Hidden Memories
by Prexistence
Summary: An intruder breaks in and steals his way into Rogue's heart and after the death of one of his daughter, Magneto declares war on the human race. Will the XMen stop or help him after losing on of their own as well? UP FOR ADOPTION
1. Meeting the Ends

This fic takes place after X2, forgot about X3, nothing in there will be used in here from it.

**Main couples **(some are present and some will be coming): Romy, Jott, Jonda, RoLo, and others to come.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

It was around midnight in downtown New York. A girl ran through the streets with a mob of humans chasing after her. She didn't dare turn around knowing they would be there and that would slow her down. She swept a strand of green hair out of her green eyes as she turned the corner.

"Get back here Mutie!" One of the people yelled as they continued to chase the girl.

The green haired girl slipped in a puddle of water and fell to the ground hard on her knees. She could feel a bruise forming, but ignored it and got to her feet. She continued running until she reached the end of the alley to a dead end.

The ground of people turned down the alley and walked slowly until they spotted the girl. "There it is! Kill it!" A woman shouted and the group approached the girl, who was facing the wall. By the time the mutant girl turned around it was too late. They attacked. A woman's scream filled the night sky.

**X-Mansion-Backyard**

White chairs were spread out for everyone to sit. The classes had been canceled for a week now. Every student and teacher sat with a white flower in his or her lap. A girl with brown hair and white streaks wearing a black dress sat in the second row closest to the front where a dark brown podium stood. Next to her was a boy around her age with short spike brown hair wearing a black suit.

In the front row sat a man with short brown hair and red glasses. His head was bowed and a small tear slid down from behind the red lenses. Next to him sat a large blue furry man who placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. On the other side of the brown haired man sat a woman with short white hair who had been trying to help for the past week.

A man in a wheel chair rolled up to the podium and got everyone's attention. "As all of you know, a week ago we lost a very valuable person: Jean Grey. She was one of my first students and losing her is like losing a member of my family. I've never met a woman as positive and encouraging as her." Professor Charles Xavier said to the group. No one said a word and kept their heads bowed.

Everyone there had met Jean. All of the students had her as a teacher at one point and had always enjoyed her class more than others. The news that she had been killed at Alkali Lake had saddened everyone in the school.

Scott Summers finally got up from his spot and walked to the podium. Xavier wheeled backwards and allowed him room to talk. Out of everyone in the mansion, he had taken it the hardest. He loved Jean more than anything else in the world.

Some were scared he might do something he might regret and kept an eye on him. Most of the time he would just sit in his room and refused come out. Ororo and Logan had to make sure he was alright. A friend of theirs, whose mutation finally manifested came to the mansion: Hank McCoy.

"I don't know what to say." Scott started and could feel his voice crack. "I loved Jean. I'd rather it had been me instead so she could have been here today. She didn't deserve what happened to her." He brought his hand to the bridge of his nose. Xavier rolled up beside him and tried to comfort the younger man, but it didn't seem to help.

A few miles away, a young man in a brown leather duster stared at the funeral through a pair of binoculars. He had a soft tan skin and brown hair. He looked as the man with glasses walked away from the funeral after placing a red rose on a black casket. Everyone else that was sitting rose to their feet and started walking up to the casket.

He oversaw the crowd and made a few notes to himself on each of them. As soon as he came across the girl with brown hair with white streaks a sly grin appeared on his face. 'School ain' bad if dey got belle femme's like dis.' He thought to himself and looked through the rest of the crowd.

He pulled the binoculars away and revealed his red on black eyes. His employer had wanted him to sneak into the X-Men's mansion and steal all the information within it. It looked like an easy enough job to do.

**Magneto's Base**

John sat in the chair of Magneto's office with Mystique. They were told to wait there for him. The day before two people arrived at the base, one with black hair and the other with silver. From what Mystique had told him, they were Magneto's children. He was shocked to see them as well. They all went into his office and when he came out he was pissed.

Finally the door opened and Magneto walked in with his children, Wanda and Pietro. "What is this about?" Mystique was the first to ask.

"From what they told me, my other daughter Lorna was killed by an anti-mutant group." He clenched his hands together and the desk in front of them began to bend.

"They said they even took her body and burned it, or so they claim." Wanda aka Scarlet Witch stated and took a seat next to John.

"Those-little-bastards-are-going-to-pay-for-hurting-my-sister! No-one-gets-away-with-that!" Pietro aka Quicksilver growled and sat down next to his sister. Once they had learned of the fate of their other sister, they came to Magneto with the news.

"Indeed. I've had enough of the homo-sapiens. It is time they pay." Magneto said and sat down in his chair. "I don't understand why she didn't use her powers on them."

"Because she didn't like hurting people." Wanda replied. "Though sometimes that is the only solution." She whispered to herself.

"So, what are we going to do?" John asked the older man and glanced over at Wanda. 'I'm going to like working here.' He thought to himself.

"I already have recruited a few more mutants. At the moment, they are spying in different areas for me. Once I am able to recruit more and have all the information I need, we are going to war." Magneto announced.

**End of Chapter 1**

Note: sorry this is short. The next chapter will be longer. At least I hope so.


	2. Goodbyes

Hope ya enjoy the chapter :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

* * *

Scott packed his last shirt into his suit case and zipped it up. He had decided the night before after the funeral; he was going to leave the mansion for a while. He talked to Professor Charles Xavier early in the morning and told his mentor he would be leaving. Charles was saddened by the news, but understood this is what Scott needed to do.

A knock at the door drew his attention away from his luggage. "Come in." Scott called. The black door knob turned and the brown wooden door opened to reveal Ororo and Logan.

"We heard you were leaving." Ororo said as she entered the room and heard Logan close the door behind them.

"For a while. Yeah. I can't stay here anymore. At least not at the moment." Scott whispered and dragged his suitcase off his queen-sized bed he had once shared with Jean.

"Where ya goin'?" Logan asked and folded his arms over his broad chest.

"I don't know yet. I'll go anywhere that doesn't remind me of . . . " Scott stopped for a moment as his voice choked. Everyone was still recovering from Jean's death, but for Scott it had been the hardest. It felt like just yesterday he held her in his arms and promised everything would be alright. He had let her down and never felt guiltier in his entire life. "Who I lost." He whispered.

"You are always welcome here." Ororo told him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We will never forgot you and be waiting for when you return." She stated.

Scott gave the white-haired goddess a weak smile and nodded. He knew the X-Men would be in good hands with Ororo and Logan in charge. "Take care, and stay safe." He told Ororo as she hugged. When they broke apart, he turned to Logan who held out his hand.

"See ya around, bub." Logan said and shook the other man's hand in a firm hand shake. Scott nodded. He released the other man's hand and watched as Scott exited the bedroom and down the hallway.

"I can't believe how things are falling apart." Ororo sighed and sat down on the bed. She rested her chin on the knuckles of her hand and stared at the door.

"I know." Logan said and sat down next to her.

"It seems like just yesterday the three of us had met. Now Jean is gone. Scott has left. I am the only one left besides you." She sighed. Logan wrapped an arm around her and brought her closer to him. Her head rested against his shoulder.

"I know, darlin'. I know." He said softly. "I swear. I ain' gonna leave ya either." Logan vowed to her as he rocked the upset woman. "Scott will be back. He just needs ta clear his head." He assured her. During his past, he couldn't remember if he had been uncomfortable in these kinds of situations. The past week had made him very uncomfortable. He had to take charge around the mansion and comfort people such as Ororo, Rogue, and some of the younger students who he could hear cry at night.

'Makes me respect Scott a lot more.' Logan thought to himself, wondering how Scott had been able to hold his head high no matter what situation. He never realized how much he underestimated the other man. He only thought of him as some jealous boyfriend with a stick up his ass.

Ororo pulled away from Logan and tried to calm herself. She knew Logan was still grieving because of Jean, but never showed it. "I'm sorry." She told him. "I know you loved Jean and it's not fair you have to comfort everyone else." She said and was about to get up, when he pulled her back down.

"No, it's alright." He told her and sighed. "I loved Jean with all my heart." He stated and bowed his head. "But in the end she chose the man she really loved: Scott. I may have wanted her to choose me, but I respected her no matter what."

Ororo gave Logan and small hug. "You're a wonderful man, Logan. I'm so glad you are on our side." She whispered and buried her head into his chest.

Logan began to stroke Ororo's white hair, enjoying the feeling of the strands in his finger tips. He had always thought highly of her, but now he was beginning to have other feelings for the white-haired woman that he hadn't expected to surface

**Rec. Room**

"I can't believe it's already been a week." Jubilee sighed as she sat on the couch and watched Kitty, Piotr, and Bobby play pool.

"Ah know. It's been hard." Rogue said to her friend.

"Especially for you guys. I mean. You two were actually there when Miss. Grey lifted the jet and got hit by the wave." Kitty said and rested her chin on the tip of the pool stick.

"It is a terrible lose that it seems everyone is taking responsibility for." Piotr commented. During the past week, the Professor had blamed himself for not helping. Storm kept saying she should have been out there and could have stopped the water. Scott and Logan both said they should have stopped her before she left the jet.

"I heard the Mr. Summers is leaving or has already left." Bobby told the group as he shot at the yellow ball with the pool stick.

"Dear god, does this mean Logan is going to be teaching the Danger Room sessions?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, bright and early at five in the morning." Piotr answered his friend, who looked horrified.

"But that's too early. I wouldn't mind it if it was later." Kitty whined and leaned against the wall.

"Hey, can Ah talk ta ya in the hall?" Rogue whispered to Jubilee. Their three friends didn't notice as the two of them snuck out of the room. Once they were in the hallway, Jubilee turned to Rogue.

"So, what's up?" Jubilee asked her best friend.

"Ah've been havin' problems with Bobby." Rogue replied hesitantly. Her black haired friend raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"What kind of problems? The two of you seem perfect together." Jubilee stated.

"Ah don't know what it is. Every time Ah look at him, Ah don't feel the same connection. Ah mean don't get meh wrong, Ah love him. But it's more of like how a sister loves a brother." Rogue answered.

"When did this start?" The Asian girl asked curiously.

"After Alkali Lake. He kept comforting meh, like how Logan did. After a day or two, it felt weird thinking of kissing him or anything else." Rogue replied.

"Hm, the only advice I would suggest is talking to him. I mean you guys are great friends. You don't want to lose that." She suggested.

"Yeah." Rogue whispered and looked towards the floor.

"What is it?" Jubilee asked and rested a hand on her friends shoulder.

"What if Ah can't find someone else though? Ah mean Bobby accepts meh and isn't afraid of meh or mah powers. There aren't many people that do or will." Rogue sighed.

"Hey come on. Don't talk that way. I mean you are in a school filled with people who aren't accepted by society because we are all mutants. There are going to be plenty of boys chasing after you." Jubilee assured her friend with a grin.

"Ya think so?" Rogue looked up at Jubilee with a small smile.

"Of course. Now come on. I wanna watch Kitty kick Piotr and Bobby's ass's at pool." She dragged her friend back into the Rec. Room.

**Magneto's Base**

John grumbled as he walked down the hallway of the base. He wasn't getting along well with one of Magneto's new recruits. 'Of all the people he could have picked, why the hell did he pick that arrogant idiot.' He thought to himself and entered the warehouse area.

He saw a few of the other new members of Magneto's team working on something in the back. 'This is turning into another X-Men Mansion.' He thought to himself bitterly. The reason he joined up was because he wanted some action, and so far Magneto's team was as boring as the X-Men's.

"Get the hell away from me!" He heard a female voice yell and an SNIKT noise echoed through the building. John gazed over to see Pietro arguing with a girl with long brown hair and two long knives sticking out of her hand.

'She reminds me of . . . nah, couldn't be.' John thought to himself.

"Fine but don't come running to when you need help!" Pietro shouted at the girl and walked off and right into his sister, Wanda.

"I thought I told you to stop flirting with girls who aren't interested." Wanda said to her twin brother.

"I can't help it if I attract the ladies!" Pietro grinned at her and sped off before she could insult him.

"How can you understand what he is even saying?" John asked as he approached her.

"Years of experience and being annoyed by him." Wanda growled and looked at Pyro. She raised an eyebrow. 'Guess not all of his recruits are half bad.' She thought to herself as she looked John up and down. "Why are you here?" She asked him. "You were here before me and my brother arrived."

"I joined about a week or so ago. To tell you the truth, I thought there would be more excitement here. I mean, Magneto keeps talking about how mutants should rule the world, but hasn't done anything about it yet." He grumbled.

"You know, I use to wish that mutants and humans could live together in harmony. There would be a lot less death and chaos around the world for both races. I always thought my dads dream and ideas were stupid. I mean, he's tried already. We saw on the news about Liberty Island. All he did was make things worse for mutants afterwards." She sighed. "But now I am thinking it is the only way. People need to be ruled because they fear us and want us gone." Wanda growled.

"Sorry about your sister." John said, knowing that's the main reason why she joined up with her father.

"So am I." Wanda whispered. "She never once hurt anyone. From what we heard, she went to a party and was wearing a wig. Someone pulled it off and revealed her green hair. People got scared and some went after her. One person said they saw her clutching her head before she noticed everyone was mad at her for being a mutant. She then took off and that was the last anyone has heard from her."

"Maybe there is a chance she is still alive." John told her.

"No, our dad apparently called Charles Xavier and asked him to try and locate Lorna. I was surprised he did it, but they were best friends at one point. Anyways, he wasn't able to pick up her mind anywhere." Wanda sighed and tried her best to remain calm. There was no way she was going to let a stranger see her cry.

John hesitated for a moment and then wrapped an arm around Wanda's shoulders and brought her close. "I'm sorry." He said.

Wanda's first instincts were to shove this guy to the ground or hex him into the wall, but at the moment she just liked being held. She couldn't remember the last time someone had done this for her, or if anyone had ever tried.

"Thanks." She whispered.

**End of Chapter 2**

Special Thanks to: **Loneraven, rising goddess, bored247, sakura5tar, and AngelofMercy86. **Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter and telling me what you thought (hugs you guys)


	3. Picking Sides

Hope ya enjoy the chapter :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

* * *

**Rogue's Room**

Rogue sat on her bed writing up her history assignment. She was finally able to get started on it since Kitty and Jubilee went off to the mall and failed in dragging her along. She had wanted to go, but there was no way she was going to fail this class or any of the others.

It was the only place she had. She didn't know if she could go back to her parent's house, or if they would even accept her. Often she wanted to pick up the phone and call them to let them know she was alright. But after finding out that she was a mutant, they would never accept her.

"Rogue?" She heard Bobby's voice in the door way and looked over at him. She smiled at him and brushed away a strand of white hair that fell over her left green eye.

"Hey Bobby. How are ya?" Rogue asked, trying not to sound nervous. She knew she had to break up with him soon and not lead him on. It was not fair.

"I'm alright." Bobby replied as he sat down on her bed across from her. He looked down at what she was writing and shook her head. "I can't believe you are actually doing your homework." He sighed.

"Well Ah gotta. Ah don't wanna fail or get kicked outta here." Rogue told him and glanced down at her assignment.

"A few months ago, John and I stole Miss. Munroe's second answer guide." He grinned at her.

"So ya have been cheatin' this entire time?" She asked in disbelief. Though it would explain why he had so much free time and always got all the answers correct.

"I wouldn't call it cheating. More like . . ." Bobby tried to think of a good answer, but none came to mind.

"Cheatin'?" Rogue smiled at him and shook her head. "Do ya miss him?" She asked, shifting her eyes back down to her book.

"John?" Bobby asked her. She nodded silently. "Yeah." He whispered. "I can't believe he left with Magneto. I mean of all people, he leaves with the enemy! Hell, the guy even tried to kill you." The brown haired young man growled.

"What is happenin' around here?" She glanced up at him. "Ah mean first Miss. Grey dies, and then we find out that John left us for someone who wants to have a war so mutants will rule the world."

"Yeah." Bobby sighed and tapped his fingers across Rogue's bed spread.

Finally gaining the courage to tell him, Rogue decided it would be best to end her relationship with Bobby now. "Bobby, Ah . . ." She hesitated. He looked at her and noticed she was nervous. "Ah think it would be best if we remain friends." She continued to not look at him.

"What?" He whispered.

"Ah like ya Bobby, a lot. Ah just don't feel the same connection Ah use ta with ya. It's like lovin' Logan, who Ah think of as family." Rogue explained.

"Oh. I understand." Bobby said and gave her a small smile. "I've been feeling the same way, so I'm kind of relieved." He told her, causing her to look up. "Back when we were on the jet and after, you felt more like a sister than a girlfriend. Just like Jubilee and Kitty, no matter how annoying they can get, they feel like the only family I got now."

A smile appeared on Rogue's face and she reached over to hug him. "Thanks." She whispered.

"No problem." He replied in her hair and sat back once their embrace ended.

**Xavier's Office**

Logan opened the door for Ororo as the white-haired woman entered the room. Professor Charles Xavier sat behind his desk and waited for the two to be seated in front of him.

"So, what do ya want, Chuck?" Logan asked as he sat down in the seat next to Ororo.

"I wanted to discuss something very important with the two of you." Xavier began. "Recently, Magneto's daughter has been killed by an anti-mutant group of some sort. I have no doubt in my mind he will do something about it. I have also been notified he is gathering mutants, which will lead to disaster for us."

"So he is out for revenge. Not a big deal." Logan grumbled silently, but loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"Actually it is. Eric has always dreamed of mutants ruling the world and not having to worry about non-mutants for as long as I've known him. I believe he will start a war." Xavier announced.

"If Magneto tries anything, we will stop him before innocent people get hurt." Ororo assured the Professor.

"Thank you." Charles gave a small smile and nodded his head. "I know the both of you have classes to attend to, so I will not waste anymore of your time. Good-day." He said as he dismissed them.

Logan and Ororo stood up and walked toward the exit. Once Logan closed the door behind him, he found Ororo standing in the hall waiting for him. "I wanted to speak with you for a moment, if you don't mind." She told him.

"Sure." Logan replied and started walking down the hall with the white-haired woman.

"I want to know, do you believe we are doing the right thing by going after Magneto?" She asked him. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "In the room, you sounded like it was okay for Magneto to attack people." Ororo stated.

"They killed his daughter. If those bastards did the same ta me, I would be out for revenge too." Logan told her.

"But starting a war or killing innocent people will not solve anything. It will not bring his daughter back." Ororo shot back.

"No, but there is still more than Magneto and the Brotherhood out there. The world hates mutants and wants us gone." Logan growled.

"But if they-" Ororo tried to say, but Logan cut her off.

"-won't understand anythin'." He told her and unsheathed his claws from both hands and held them up. "This is what people did ta me. They don't give a damn if you are a living being or not. All ya are ta them is an animal that needs ta be locked away and controlled. Hell, look at what happened ta Jean. If Stryker never kidnapped any of the kids or attacked the mansion, she'd still be alive." He retracted his claws after making his point and turned around to walk the opposite direction.

"Xavier's dream maybe nice, but it'll never happen." Logan stated and walked away.

Ororo stood in the hall shaking her head. 'But no good has ever come from killing.' She thought to herself and sighed. She knew nothing was ever going to be the same around the mansion.

**Magneto's Base**

"Just tell me where these little worms are and I'll crush em." Juggernaut said to Magneto as he fisted both his hands.

"Not yet. I want to make sure everything will go according to plan." Magneto told the bigger mutant as he stood in front of him.

"You said if I went with ya I would be able to crush somethin'." Juggernaut growled and glared down at the older man. "If I don't, I'll have ta settle for you, grandpa." He said and was about to grab Magneto, when the older man held his hand up and sent Juggernaut flying.

"A little lesson for you, never argue with someone that controls metal when you are wearing a metal suit." Magneto turned away from him and walked over to Wanda, Pietro, and John. "Did you find the plans?" He asked them.

"Yeah, there is a prison in this place called Genosha. Hundreds of mutants are being held prisoner there. I'm sure if we break them out, they will join us." Wanda told her father, who nodded.

"And if not we just leave them there!" Pietro suggested jokingly. "Or better yet leave her there!" He glared at the brown haired girl who was sitting by herself across the room.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd really miss X-23. I've seen the picture you keep under your pillow and the drool all over it." John grinned as the silver haired young man glared at him.

"I do not take that back asshole!" Pietro shouted and stood up.

"Boys." Magneto said in a low voice, breaking up the fight. "We do not have time for this. Bring me the map to getting to Genosha and we will leave at once." He instructed them.

"But what if the X-Men interfere?" John asked the master of magnetism. He still didn't know how he could be going against people whom he once considered his friends.

"If they know what is good for them, they won't." Magneto stated and turned around to leave the room.

"Some people never change." Wanda muttered to herself and sat down in her chair.

"Eh it's him what did you expect?" Pietro said to her.

**X-Mansion-Logan's Room**

Logan lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling of his room. He had tried to sleep, but found it plagued with the same nightmares that had haunted him for as long as he could remember. He sighed and shifted to look at the clock that read it was one in the morning already.

'Maybe I could go work out in the Danger Room that always passes the time.' He thought to himself. Then suddenly, he smelled a foreign scent in the air and quickly pulled his blankets back.

He sat up in his bed and got up quickly. 'It's comin' from downstairs.' He thought to himself and exited his room and into the hallway. He unsheathed his claws as he continued walking.

"Oh Logan, hi." Rogue greeted him.

"What the hell are ya doin' up this early?" He growled at her.

"Ah had ta go ta the bathroom." Rogue replied to him and looked at him strangely. "Is everythin' alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, now go back ta bed." He ordered and continued walking down the hall.

Rogue watched him and knew something was wrong. He would never unsheathe his claws in the school unless something was not right. 'Maybe Ah should follow him.' She debated to herself. She knew she had to get up early in the morning, but then again, what if Logan needed help. 'Yeah, like that'll ever happen.' She thought.

'Unless someone like Magneto is in here. He won't stand a chance. Ah'm goin.' She thought and followed silently behind him. He already had a large head start.

**End of Chapter 3**

Special Thanks to: **Loneraven, AngelofMercy86, bored247, and Rising Goddess**. Thanks so much for telling me your opinions on the last chapter, I really appreciate it :) (hugs you all)


	4. Intruder Alert

Hope ya enjoy the chapter :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

Logan headed down the stairs of the mansion. He had sensed that all the kids were in their beds sleeping, except for Rogue. He was tempted to tell her to go back to bed, but didn't want to lose the foreign scent he picked up.

He walked down the hallway looking into each room as he passed. 'Gotta be comin' from the basement.' He thought to himself. It would make sense if someone broke in to go down there. 'Meanin' this person knows exactly where their goin'.' The thought came to him as he took the stairs that lead to the sub-basement. If he had taken the elevator, it would make too much noise and alert the intruder.

He slowly crept down the stairs, also sensing that Rogue was still far behind him, which he was happy about. He didn't want her involved in this. The person could harm her.

"Welcome Professor." Logan heard Cerebro say as he made it to the bottom.

'Yep, this person knows what their doin'. Too bad they picked the wrong place.' Logan growled as he shut the door to the stairs.

He walked as quietly as he could through the metal hallway and into the room the intruder was supposed to be in.

Logan growled as he searched the small room. There was no way someone could hide in there. The only options there were was hiding behind Cerebro, or they jumped off the pathway.

'He's still here. I can smell him.' Logan thought to himself. Just as he was about to turn around and head back towards the door he heard a soft humming noise. By the time he saw what was coming, a small explosion knocked him off his feet and sent him into Cerebro.

Logan growled as he got up and glared at the now visible intruder. A tall brown haired man wearing a dark-brown leather duster, he wore a pair of dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. From the looks of it, he was a year or two older than Rogue. In his hand he held a seven of spades playing card that was closing pink.

"Ya gonna pay fer that." Logan snarled and charged at younger man. He swung his claws, swiping at the other mutant's chest, but they never hit. Instead, the mutant threw the card at Logan and it exploded in his face.

"Fancy seein' someone up dis late, non? Thought all old people went to bed before six." The man said in a Cajun accent. Logan wiped the blood that trickled down the side of his cheek. Now the Canadian was really ticked off.

"I don't remember invitin' ya down here either, but ya ain't gonna be leavin' here alive." Logan swore as he got to his feet. He noticed that the younger man pulled out a small metal tube from his duster and pressed the red button in the center of it. Both sides of the tube expanded until it was five feet long.

"So, y' wanna have another round? Dat fine with moi." The Cajun grinned at him and twirled his staff and waited for Logan to attack.

"What I wanna know is why Mags sent ya here." Wolverine growled and ran at him. The Cajun raised an eyebrow curiously at him, but it disappeared as he blocked the Canadian's claws that would have torn him to shreds.

"Needed information, can't think of anywhere else dat would be better." The Cajun replied as he yet again tried to dodge Wolverine's claws, except this time the end of his coat got caught and torn. Once the Cajun had some distance between him and Logan, he looked at his coat and glared angrily at Wolverine. "Dis is my favorite coat, homme. Gambit gonna make y' pay for dis."

"Believe me, I'm going to do more than shred that little coat of yours." Logan snarled and was about to attack Gambit, when the other mutant froze.

"Merde." Gambit whispered as he slumped to the floor. Logan looked behind him to see Rogue stepping back away. She looked as if she was panicking and suddenly cried and fell to the floor.

"Rogue, ya alright darlin'?" Logan asked with concerned as he bent down next to girl.

"Get de hell away from moi!" Rogue shouted, her eyes shut and hands clutching her head.

**Genosha **

Guards wearing grey uniforms stood post outside the cement building behind them. Each of them had a rifle in their hand and watched in front of them for either their boss or any intruders.

"Sector A and B are clear, move on." A voice came from one of the guard's communicator. Five men walked across the dirt path to search the grounds some more.

"Hang on. We may have something." Came from the communicator. The guard held his rifle close to him and scanned the area. There was nothing in site. All the trees and grass were destroyed to make sure no one would hide.

"Oh sh-" Rang from the communicator. The siren went off and gun started going off. He saw one of his fellow guard's run up to him.

"We got some mutants on the island. You go, I'll take your post." The other said to him.

The guard ran off and the other watched with a smirk across his face. "Fool." Mystique laughed and shifted into her regular form. Magneto, Pyro, Juggernaut, Scarlet Witch, X-23, and Quicksilver were distracting the security on the island while she snuck in.

She open the door to the cement building and glanced around to find hundreds of mutants in cells. 'He was right.' She thought to herself and strolled next to a cell that contained an old team mate of hers. "Nice to see you again, Creed." Mystique greeted Sabertooth who growled.

"Get me outta here now!" He snarled at her.

"Of course." She responded and went to the control panel. There were hundreds of buttons that controlled the cells. A person could either turn the mutants' powers off, which it was currently on, send an electric charge into the mutant, release the mutant, or turn the powers back on. Mystique started pushing several of the buttons and heard the doors of the cells open.

"We're free." A Japanese man said as he looked down at his hands that started on fire. "And we have our powers back." He laughed.

"About bloody time." Toad said as he jumped out of his cage and grinned over at Mystique. "Lovely seein' you again." She only rolled her eyes and waited for all the mutants to exit their cells.

"Magneto has come to rescue you all from this hell hole. The homo-sapiens placed you in these cells, but they won't again. If you follow Magneto, he will lead you to a life where all mutants will have no fear of people." Mystique shouted. She had expected a few to argue with her, but none did. "Let's go." She yelled and lead the mutants out of the prison.

The exited to see Magneto standing there with the group. In the background, guards laid dead on the ground. "Welcome my brothers." Magneto greeted them.

**Diner in New Jersey **

He sat alone in the booth and looked at the red wooden table in front of him. He held his cup of coffee that was slowly growing cold. He had escaped from the mansion to try and escape all the memories of Jean dying. However, they only seemed to get worse.

"Anything else for you?" The waitress asked Scott again in an annoyed voice.

Scott looked up at her and shook his head. "No thank you." He whispered and turned his head back down.

"Ya know it is not that bright in here. You can take your sunglasses off." The waitress pointed out to him.

"I'm fine, thank you." Scott replied a bit more bitterly. The waitress dropped the check on the table and left him alone, like how he wanted.

He couldn't be around the others and comfort them like he should. Seeing their faces everyday so full of life. 'Just like Jean.' Scott thought to himself and finally released the coffee cup.

'Maybe if I go to Alkali Lake it will help.' He began to think. Scott and a few others had Xavier use Cerebro many times to see if she was still alive, but every time he would not detect her, meaning only one thing. He closed his eyes and sighed before he finally got up to pay the bill.

He left the diner and went back into his car with one destination in mind.

**End of Chapter 4**

Special thanks to:** Loneraven, Rising Goddess, and bored247**. I really appreciate that you took the time to review and tell me your thoughts of the last chapter (gives you all Hershey Kiss's and Hugs)


	5. Lesson One: Do not taunt the Wolverine

Hope ya enjoy the chapter :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything; if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

His head was pounding and his eye lids felt too heavy to open. 'What happened?' Gambit thought to himself as started to regain consciousness. He could feel that his glasses had been knocked off.

"I don't care whatcha say; I think we should gut the punk for sneakin' in here." A voice he recognized as the man whom he was fighting before he suddenly fainted.

"Logan, we need to find out why he is here and you know I do not approve of killing." A male voice said, it sounded much older than the other. "Besides, it looks like he is awake."

The Cajun mutant finally opened his eyes and lifted himself into a sitting position. He noticed he was a hard metal bed. The entire room was silver looking, except for the dark grey bars that separated him from the two men standing outside his cell. "Bonjour mes amis. Anythin' Gambit can do for y'?"

"Yeah, ya can tell us what the hell ya were doin' here." Logan snarled as he glared at the younger man, who just gave him a snide grin.

"You will have to excuse my friend." Charles Xavier said as he wheeled himself closer to the bars and tried to enter the Cajun's head, only to find it impossible. Strong mental shields block his entry. "But why were you sneaking around the mansion, especially near Cerebro?" He asked the other mutant.

"Decided to go for a little stroll." Gambit answered as he tapped his fingers against the metal bed.

"Cut the bull shit, we know ya snuck in here to get information for Magneto." Logan growled. He wasn't in the mood for playing games at the moment.

"How do y' know I was gettin' information? I'm a thief. I could have gotten in here for somethin' else." Gambit said, his grin never leaving his face which only seemed to make Logan angrier.

"Good, then I won't have ta ask questions and go ahead and get rid of ya." Logan threatened the younger man as his claws popped out of his knuckles and was about to slice the bars separating the two of them.

"Come in here and prove it den." Gambit held his arms out, trying to bait the other man to opening the cell.

"Logan! I will not ask you again to remain calm." Charles chided him, causing the feral mutant to lower his claws, but continued to glare at his prey. Charles sighed and shook his head. Things were easier when Scott had been around. He turned his attention back to the mutant before them. "Since you will not say who you work for or why you invaded our home we cannot release you. Until you decided to cooperate that is. In the meantime, Wolverine will guard your cell." Xavier told the Cajun mutant.

Gambit shrugged as if he didn't care and leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head. "Well den, I guess I'll have to make myself comfy." He replied.

Xavier turned to Logan, who was still eyeing the young man. "Do not harm him." He waned.

"We'll see." Logan whispered as folded his arms over his chest. He didn't turn his head away, even as Xavier left the room. As soon as he sensed that Charles was in the elevator heading to the upper level he moved closer to the cell. "Chuck might be soft on ya, but I ain't. I'm goin' ta find out what ya were here for, even if I have ta pound it out of ya. Ya got no idea who ya are messin' with."

"Now Gambit's scared." The Cajun mutant said sarcastically as he laughed. He leaned forward and stood up. He analyzed the cell when Xavier had first spoken to him. It was good. In fact, it was one of the best he had seen in a long time. There was a field around the cell that tampered his powers. 'But den again, ain' de best thief in de world because of my powers.' He smirked silently to himself.

"And y' are wrong, homme." Gambit said as he stepped closer to the bars, but out of reach of those claws. "I do know who y' are. Y' de big bad poor Wolverine who can' remember his past. De entire world revolves around him. Y'r supposed to be a loner, but from de looks of dat, dat wasn' right if y' are in a school filled with a bunch of people." He mocked the Canadian.

Logan growled and was about to open the cell. He didn't care what Xavier would say or do after he found the young man dead in front of him. He just wanted him dead. He was about to press the open button to the cell door.

"Logan!" Ororo yelled as she walked into the room and noticed what he was going to do. Logan growled again and lowered his hand. "What were you going to do?" She asked as she walked over to him.

"Just goin' ta teach this punk a lesson." Logan replied to her and shifted his eyes away from her. For some reason over the past few days he had problems talking to Ororo. It was like he was nervous and a bit excited when she was around. 'Like when I first met Jeannie.' He thought.

"The Professor sent me down to check on you two. If you want, I can stay here and watch him." She insisted. She looked over at their prisoner for the first time. "You must be Gambit, the one who snuck into the mansion." Ororo stated. She had no doubt it could be done. She had once been a thief herself. "My name is Storm or-" She began to say when he cut her off.

"I think Stormy fits y' better." Gambit told her as he sat back down on the bed.

Ororo gritted her teeth. She _hated_ that name. "Do not call me that." She glared at him.

"It is a better name dan Storm, it makes ya sound borin'." Gambit continued on, until he noticed her eyes turning white and decided it was time to be quiet.

**Rogue's Room**

Kitty and Jubilee stood outside the room they shared with Rogue. The entire night she had been tossing and turning and mumbling stuff. She was still on her bed with her face buried in her pillow.

"Maybe we should ask her to go with us to the mall. That might get her mind off of what is bugging her." Kitty suggested.

"Yeah, but she has been having problems because of the memories she absorbed. It's like they are not going away. I think the last thing she needs is a place with a bunch of people talking." Jubilee said to her.

"That's true." Kitty sighed. She hated seeing her friend like this.

"We can try to talk to her again." Jubilee told her brown haired friend. She walked into the room slowly, followed by Kitty. They tried not to make too much noise. "Rogue?" Jubilee whispered as she sat down on the bed next to her friend.

Kitty came on the other side and rested a hand on Rogue's shoulder. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Rogue screamed as she shot up. Both Kitty and Jubilee were taken back by her reaction. Parts of her hair clung to her face. Her eyes were also red from crying.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to touch you." Kitty apologized and got to her feet. Rogue closed her eyes and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Sorry, Ah didn't mean that. It's these memories. Ah keep relivin' them." She told them.

"You want to talk about them?"Jubilee asked. Rogue shook her head.

"Ah don't want ta in case they come back. They finally left." Rogue said to her. And looked down at her bed. "For now." She whispered.

"Well, if you need us, we will be in the Rec. Room." Kitty told her. "Also the guy that you absorbed is in the holding cells." She added.

Jubilee began to chuckle to herself. "Apparently, he made Wolvie really mad." She said as she got to her feet and followed her friend out of the door. "If you need anything, just holler."

Rogue gave a small smile as she watched them leave. 'Maybe Ah should go see that guy. He could explain ta meh who those people were that died and why there are two versions of it.' She thought to herself and got up.

**Magneto's New Base In Genosha**

Wanda sat on the couch in front of the TV. She wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. The last person she wanted to see walked into the room. "Hey sis what are you watching?" Pietro asked as he plopped himself down next to her.

"None of your business." She growled at him.

Pietro grinned at her. "I know what this is about!" He taunted her. She glared over at him and her left hand secretly glowed blue next to her. "I saw how you hexed the hell out of that guard when he tried to shoot John. You love John!" Pietro shouted and got thrown into the wall.

Wanda stood up. "I don't like that idiot." She yelled at him.

Pietro continued to taunt her from the floor. "Don't deny it I saw you two hug!" Pietro shot back at her.

"That was nothing. And stop talking like a jackass." She snarled at him. "Besides, I see how you look at X-23. You love her." Wanda said with a small smile. "But I don't think you love X-23 as much as you once loved Crystal."

"I HATED HER! That inhuman bitch tried to kill me! I love X-23 a thousand times more." Pietro shouted.

"You what?" X-23 asked as she stood in the hall, looking at a now pale Pietro.

"Um. . . ." Pietro, for once, was lost for words. Luckily for him, Magneto's voice was heard over the intercom.

"Wanda and Pietro. Come to my office now. Apparently, one of ours had been captured on his mission." He announced.

"Love to stay and chat, but you know." Pietro said to X-23 before speeding off. Wanda shook her head and followed after him.

**End of Chapter 5**

Special thanks to: **Loneraven, RisingGoddess. Bored247 n Marshmen, AngelofMercy86**, and **southernbelle**. Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter :) (gives you all little Valentine candy hearts, yep they got em up already)


	6. Others Out There

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, if I did I would be rich and probably wouldn't be writing fanfics. Eh, who am I kidding, I'd still be writing.

_A little boy fell to his knees as he felt a tingling sensation in his hand. His hands were glowing red and everything around him began to glow. _

"_Remy? What are y' doin'?" He heard his father yell at him. Thing began to explode around the room. "Stop dis now, boy!" He yelled. _

"_Pere, I can't!" The boy said frightened as the entire room began to glow. Within a few seconds, their home blew up._

Rogue waited in the elevator as it rode down to the bottom floor. The entire time she had been thinking of what she was going to say to the man she met the night before. Normally when she absorbed people's memories they would go away depending on how long she had touched him or her. It had been no more than two seconds and the memories were still fresh in her mind.

Finally the elevator door opened and Rogue stepped out and into the silver metal hallway. She saw Miss. Monroe walking the other way. She did not seem to notice the southern girl and mumbled something to herself as she entered the elevator.

Rogue slowly made her way towards the holding cells. Each step she took she could feel her head throbbing harder and harder as she neared the person whose memories kept haunting her.

As she made it to the doorway, she couldn't take it anymore and fell to her knees. She winced when she felt a tinge of pain from the metal floor hit, but that was nothing compared to the pain inside her head as the memory resurfaced.

_She was in the person's body being chased by someone. She wanted to turn around to look, but couldn't. 'Not this again.' Rogue thought to herself as she wanted to cry when she turned the corner to see two men and a woman dead in a living room. _

"_Papa." A little boy's voice said. She watched as tiny fingers shook the older looking man, who did not wake up. There was a slash mark that ran from the man's shoulder all the way down to his hip, along with a slash across his neck. _

_Rogue could feel tears streaming down her cheek as her eyes looked over at a large black woman. "Tante." The boy began to cry_.

Inside, Rogue was crying for the memory to stop. Of all the memories she had gotten from the intruder, this one kept replaying its self and was the worst.

"_Henri." The_ boy _stood up and whipped his tears the best he could. A noise from behind him caught his attention and he began running again. _

Rogue had tears running down her cheeks. She slowly and shakily got to her feet and entered the room. She had expected to see Logan there, but no one was guarding the prisoner who was playing a game of solitaire.

She closed the door behind her quietly, but it still caught the man's attention. His red on black eyes glanced over at her and a crooked smile greeted her. "Bonjour, chere. Don' believe I've met y' before." He said as he abandoned his game of solitaire and stood up to walk over to the bars.

"Ah've kept mahself away from here." Rogue whispered. She looked up at him and was still wondering how she was going to ask him about the memories.

"So, y' my new guard. Hm, well I have been a bad boy. Mebbe y' can punish me a bit." Gambit winked at her and moved closer to the bars.

"Ya do know Ah was the one that knocked ya out right?" Rogue asked him, not amused by his flirting or whatever it was he was trying to do.

"Really? Y' got one hell of a touch. Why don' we go for another round and see if I can remember it dis time." He asked her.

"If ya want, Ah can touch ya again and knock ya inta a coma. But then again, Ah don't want your memories in mah mind, Remy." Rogue snarled at him. The cocky look on his face disappeared and he just stared at her in shock.

"How y' know Gambit's name?" He asked her.

Rogue sighed. She hated explaining her powers because most people would back away from her and it took time for them to be comfortable around her. Like when she had absorbed Logan, most of the students had gotten scared. After Liberty Island and Bobby dating her, the others came around.

"Ah can absorb people's memories and powers. Ah saw someone callin' ya Remy and assumed it was your name." She explained to him. Rogue was shocked that he wasn't backing away from the bars and looking at her like she was a vampire. 'Doesn't matter, he is a criminal anyways. He probably has seen stuff like this already.' She thought to herself.

"So, what did y' pick up in my ol' mind?" Remy asked, a smile flashed across his face as he looked at her. He knew whatever she found was not good.

"Ah saw ya bein' chased by someone and findin' people ya called 'Papa and Tante." She answered him. He turned his back to her and walked back to where his cards were. "Who were they?" She asked him.

"None of y'r business." Remy growled at her and threw a card down.

"They must be important if Ah keep seein' them over and over again." Rogue pointed out. "Ah know we just met, but ya shouldn't keep that ta yaself. Ya should talk ta someone about it. Ah've seen what ya went through." She told him.

Remy shook his head. "Y' may have seen it, chere, but y' didn' live through it." He told her and went back to his cards.

"Ah know what ya went through." Rogue said to him. "Ah got kicked out of mah home when Ah was sixteen and had no where ta go. Ah didn't have anyone or anythig' until Ah met Logan." She told him. Remy stood up again and glanced at her.

"Remy's real parents abandoned him when he was a baby. Remy lived on the streets until he was ten, dat was when dese nice folks found him and took him in." Gambit said to her, trying to hide his emotions which were slipping. Evidence of it was he started speaking in third person again, which he normally didn't do unless he was upset. "Dey taught him a lot of thievin' skills. Dat was until dey all got killed two years later by a psychopath." He murmured.

Rogue lowered her eyes away from him. "Who was he?" She asked him in a soft voice. She rested a hand on the bar lightly.

"A dead man as soon as I find him." Remy growled.

"What about the other memory? It's the same thing except ya blew the entire house up and everyone died?" Rogue asked him. Even though she had not absorbed that many people, she knew it was weird that someone would have two different version of the same memory in their head.

"Dat is nothin'. Just somethin' else." Remy muttered under his breath. He had tried to repress the second memory. However, he was beginning to forget which was real and fake. "Gotta hunt de bastard down." He whispered to himself, referring to the first memory.

"Well ya ain't gonna be able ta do nothin' bein' trapped in there, are ya?" Rogue stated to him and removed her hand from the bar to cross it over her chest with the other one.

"Not unless de belle femme standin' in front of moi decides to let me go." He told her as he walked towards her with a smirk. All he would have to do is turn his charm on. He really didn't want to be in the cell any longer. He was supposed to gather the information on the students of the school from Cerebro. He had done that, but wasn't able to give it to his employer who would be very displeased if he didn't get it soon.

"Ah don't think so. Ya broke inta here." She told him.

"Rogue! What are ya doin' here?" Logan growled as he entered the room, along with Ororo and Charles.

"I asked for all the students to stay away from the sub-basement." Charles said to her in a slightly angry tone.

"Ah thought Ah heard somethin' done here." She lied and began to regret it when Logan shook his head at her.

"Get upstairs. I'll talk to ya later about this." Logan scolded her. His eyes traveled to the cell and glared at the smirking Cajun. He unsheathed his claws threatening.

Charles waited for Rogue to leave the room before he started questioning Gambit. Unfortunately, Logan got to it before he did. "Why the hell did Magneto send ya?" He demanded.

Remy shrugged as he sat down. "To bug y'." He answered sarcastically. Ororo sighed. She had plants to attend to and did not have time to waste.

"We know about Magneto's plans to start a war with people. Now, either you tell me why he sent you, or we can let you out into the Danger Room." She threatened. Logan gave her an impressed smile.

"Mon Dieu. Y' people really do think de world revolves around y'." Remy rolled his eyes at the group and folded his arms behind his head and yawned.

"What do you mean by that?" Xavier asked him.

"Y' people think y'r de good guys and Magneto is de big bad guy. Somethin' goes wrong; Magneto is de cause of it. Nobody else in de world matters except for y'r two groups. Well, except for de Stryker person. But he only wanted him dead." Remy pointed at Logan, who growled and took a step closer.

"If you don't work for Magneto, who do you work for?" Charles asked him, sounding more interested.

The Cajun smirked at them. "Guess." He answered and turned his head away and refused to answer another word.

**End of Chapter 6**

Special Thanks to: Loneraven, bored247, AngelofMercy86, and Rising Goddess. Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter. (Hugs you all)


	7. Never Leave a Thief Unattended

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters in here. If I did I would own Gambit so that way Marvel could stop abusing him in the book!

**Alkali Lake**

Scott Summers stood on a dirt cliff above the water. He had just arrived three hours ago and since then, he continued staring into the water. 'Why did it have to be you?' He thought to himself and closed his eyes.

He would have done anything to see the love of his life again. There were so many things he hadn't gotten to tell her, but most of all, he wanted to just hold her and stroke her beautiful red hair.

What had made the matters worse was he was unable to say good-bye to her. No one had found her body. Just thinking of how it was at the bottom of the lake made him sick. She deserved a better resting place.

"Please forgive me for not being there for you." Scott whispered as he watched the water sway back and forth. "I should have been out there with you so you weren't alone." He added.

"Oh, she forgives you." A mocking malice voice said from behind him. Scott spun around to see a girl with green hair and white eyes standing a few feet away. "Don't worry. You'll be reunited soon." She told him and took a step forward.

"I've seen you before." Scott stated and raised his hand to his visor incase she attacked.

"You probably have seen pictures of Lorna. Magneto's little girl that he didn't give a shit about unless he wanted to use her. However" She said and raised her hand. Out of nowhere, a large metal object struck Scott in the back of the head and made him fall unconscious. "I am not Lorna. My name is Malice and my boss has need for you." Malice said to Scott's still form.

**X-Mansion**

"I have a hard time believing that he is telling the truth." Ororo said as she walked beside Logan down the long metal hallway of the sub-basement. The Professor had told them he wanted a minute alone with Gambit.

"He was. I could smell it on him. The kid doesn't work for Magneto." Logan told her as they waited by the elevator and pressed the call button.

"If it isn't Magneto, then who else could it be? Not many people know about us. We covered our tracks at Liberty Island. The police still think Magneto tried to use the machine and it back fired on him." Ororo mused to herself as the elevator doors finally opened up and they stepped in.

"We gotta be careful. If there is someone out there that knows about us. I'll up the security system." Logan said and leaned against the silver wall to his left. He sighed as he gazed over at her and had to admire her beauty.

"Ro, ya wanna go out tomorrow night?" He asked, refusing to look at her while he said this. The white haired goddess glanced to her side in surprised and looked at the Canadian.

"Yes, that would be lovely." She smiled at him.

**Cell Area**

Remy grinned as the Professor left the room. He quickly slipped his hand inside his left boot until he felt the lock pick he kept in case of an emergency. 'Dis is too easy.' He thought to himself with a smirk and went to pick at the lock.

After several seconds, he finally heard the click he had been waiting for. The door opened and he slid out of the cell. He looked out the main door and down the hallway and saw no one there.

"Now if I remember right, dey got a jet around here." He whispered and walked down the metal hallway.

Rogue came out of the Danger Room and saw him. 'Ah should probably contact the others.' She thought to herself and tried to contact the Professor, praying that he would pick up her thoughts, but he never answered.

Remy walked down the hall until he came across a dark grey door that had white letters that said "HANGER." He gave a small grin as he entered the room.

Rogue quietly peaked through the door and saw him by the control panel. 'Shit, what am Ah gonna do.' She thought to herself. 'Ah could run and get someone or go and try ta attack him.' Rogue had to make her decision quick for Gambit was already boarding the jet. She cursed herself again and ran towards the jet.

Rogue got up the stairs before they closed and looked around. Gambit was in the cockpit and it looked like he was hot-wiring the jet. She slowly started walking towards him when the jet powered up and started moving.

'This was stupid. Ah should have gone with the first one.' She thought to herself and hid in the back.

**Genosha**

"I'm not going to rescue Avalanche. That was his fault for getting caught." Wanda snapped at Magneto.

"We need everyone." The older mutant told his daughter sternly. "I will give you the layouts of the base he is being held in. You can take whomever you wish. Just make sure he is back here." Magneto ordered.

Pietro rolled his eyes as Magneto left the room to do business elsewhere. "So, this sucks. And I wanted to watch Gilmore Girls." Pietro muttered to himself and got looked from John and Wanda. "I mean, this sucks, and I wanted to watch wrestling!" He tried to defend himself.

John grinned as he came up with so many ways to torment Pietro. All those thoughts disappeared when Juggernaut entered the room and walked over to Wanda. "Hey, baby. I heard you to go get the little rock kid. Why not bring some big muscle like me?" He suggested and started showing off his muscles.

"I think I am going to be sick." Wanda growled and hexed Juggernaut into the wall. "If you ever talk to me again, I'll do worse." She warned as he picked himself up.

"Come on, who else are you going to date? That stupid little kid there?" Juggernaut pointed at Pyro, who glared at him and immediately took out his lighter.

"How about I barbecue you?" John snarled.

"Oh, I am so afraid. You got a lighter, how lame is that." Juggernaut laughed at him, until they heard an SNIKT sound behind them. The group turned to see X-23 had entered the room.

"Your voice annoys me. If you keep talking, I will use you as a cat post." She warned and raised her two claws.

"I'll be in my office. See you around, baby." Juggernaut said to Wanda as he left the room.

"That guy gives me the creeps." Pietro said as he shook his head.

"He is a moron." John corrected him.

"I'll take you guys with me to rescue Avalanche." Wanda told them, wanting to change the subject. "Be in the jet by ten minutes." She ordered and left the room with John following behind her.

**End of Chapter 7**

Sorry this chapter ended up short, too :( Hopefully the next one will be longer Special thanks to: **Loneraven, Rising Goddess, bored247, Mykella, and Angel of Mercy86**. You guys rock! (hugs all around)


	8. Images of the Past

**Disclaimer:** I do not own X-Men. Though, it is my goal to own them one day. It may take a few lifetimes, but I will achieve that goal!

Gambit turned the jet on auto pilot and set new coordinates. He leaned back in the black leather chair and ran a hand through his soft silky brown hair. 'Haven' thought of dem in de longest time.' He thought to himself as he remembered his short term adopted family. They had rescued him when everyone else thought he was disgusting because of his eyes.

He hadn't trusted them at first, but he slowly began to feel like he had found a home. 'And like everythin', it got taken away from moi.' He thought as he remembered.

_The large creature was after him. It had killed his family and now was after him. He abandoned his home and ran through the streets. Occasionally, he would look back to see if the creature was gone. It was, but he knew he was being stalked by it. People glared down at him as he ran by them. _

_Finally, he found an abandoned warehouse and snuck into it. 'Please, don' let him find moi.' The twelve-year-old boy prayed as he fell to the ground after his legs gave out from running. He rested his head against the cold metal wall, until he heard a growl. _

_He looked to the side to see the large creature approach him slowly. He quickly got to his feet and began backing away. The creature's claws that were still stained with blood came into view. Its long blond hair fell in front of it's yellow eyes and fangs. "Where ya think ya goin', punk?" The creature snarled._

_He didn't say anything, just continued to back away in fear. There was no way to escape it this time. The door was behind the creature. 'Papa, Henri, Tante. Remy'll be seeing y' soon.' He thought to himself as he backed into a figure he hadn't noticed behind him. He slowly looked up to see a tall man with silver metallic skin and red eyes and diamond in the middle of his forehead._

_The creature that had been chasing him stopped and glared at the new person. "Get out." A sinister voice came from the man. _

_The creature laughed and then continued walking straight. "Like I'm really afraid of ya." Suddenly, the figure behind the small boy raised his hand and shot a red bolt out of his hand and struck the creature in the chest. _

_"You should be." The red-eyed man said with an evil grin on his face as he watched the large creature run out of the building. He then looked down at the boy, who looked petrified. "Come." He ordered to the boy, who backed away in fear. _

_"What do y' want?" The boy asked as he began to tremble. _

_"Offering you a place where you will be safe. That is, unless you wish to remain here so that Sabertooth can come back and kill you." The man replied to him. _

_The boy stared at the man as if he was studying him. The man did save him, but he wondered why he would offer him safety? Everyone else, except his newly adopted family who were now dead, had cast him away because of his eyes that told them he was a mutant. _

_The taller mutant's eyes began to glow bright red. "Come to me." He spoke again. This time, the boy moved forward and took the man's hand._

Gambit threw the cards at the dash board angrily as he recalled the memory. He hadn't been strong enough to save his new family. Since the day he had seen their bodies lying on the ground, he swore he would get revenge on the mutant Sabertooth for killing them. It was his fault for killing his family.

"_Chile? What happened here?" Tante Mattie screamed as she looked at the completely destroyed house. Remy sat outside of it crying. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He had found his adopted father and brother's bodies buried underneath the rubble. _

"_Somethin' happenin' to moi, Tante!" He cried to the woman. She went over to pick him up when the ground began to glow again. "No! Not again!" He screamed before the woman who took care of him died as well. _

Remy shuddered and shook his head. 'Dat's just somethin' _he_ put in my head. It ain' real.' He thought to himself.

"About time." Gambit whispered as the jet finally reached the base. He grabbed his brown leather duster from the copilot seat and placed it on. As soon as the jet landed he exited and walked into the building.

Rogue quietly walked up to the front of the jet and saw the scattered cards all over the control buttons of the jet. 'Ah did this before, Ah can do it again.' She thought to herself nervously as she sat down in the leather seat. She was just about to turn the jet back on when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out of the seat.

Gambit walked down the metal passage way of the base that lead to the main lab. To his sides were doors' that lead into either bedrooms, prison cells, or lab equipment. He heard footsteps ahead and narrowed his eyes at the person walking towards him. "What took you so long? Did you get lost?" The mutant known as Scrambler laughed at him.

"Got held up." Gambit told him, sliding a card into his hand from his inside sleeve.

"I could have gone in there and been back here-" Scrambler began to say when Gambit threw the card at his feet. The other mutant slammed against the wall from the impact and glared at him.

"Dat be why y' never get sent on any missions. Y'r too damn slow." Gambit said as he walked past him, ignoring Scrambler's curses. He entered into the main lab. There were four long clear tubes that ran along the left side of the room, and three lab tables in the center. One was for experiments, the other two held various chemicals.

"I expected those records last night, Remy." A dark voice said instantly with hint of annoyance. By one of the lab tables, a tall mutant stood in front of it holding a test tube filled with blood in it.

"Got into a problem. But I did get de records for y', Essex." Gambit stated as he plopped the records down on the table by the scientist Nathaniel Essex, or also known as Mr. Sinister. "Y' sure y' actually wanna go along with dis plan? Magneto gonna kick y'r ass as soon as he finds out dat y' set dis whole thing up and have his daughter."

"He is only a distraction. And if he does so happen to find out my plans, he won't be able to stop me." Sinister started to laugh. "Malice has complete control over Polaris' mind. And if his other little daughter tries to do anything, well I believe our new associate will be able to handle her with no problem."

"But can y' really trust him? De guy don't seem right in de head." Gambit told him.

"You made sure to get all of the children in the school, correct? I have no need for the adults." Sinister changed the subject as he flipped through the profiles, which showed a picture of each student and what their name and code names were, but what interested Sinister the most was knowing their powers.

"Oui, I got all of dem and got into a little fight with dere pet dog." Gambit responded, half annoyed.

"You lost to Wolverine?" Sinister looked up from the file and at the younger mutant. He seemed disappointed in the younger mutant. To him, it meant he would have to push extra session for Gambit.

"Non, dat still ain' decided. Dis girl touched my skin and made me pass out." Gambit grumbled. Of all the things he hated, losing was number one.

"Hey Boss!" A female voice called from the door. Gambit and Sinister turned to see Vertigo enter with a brown haired girl with white stripes.

"Who are you?" Sinister demanded as Vertigo pushed Rogue forward. Gambit cursed to himself and wondered how she followed him without him knowing. He knew that Sinister would use her for an experiment or worse if she was a spy or torture her.

"She is with me." Gambit spoke up. "She wanted to join de team." He added in hoping Sinister and the others would buy it. Sinister raised an eyebrow at his young prodigy, but said nothing as he turned to leave.

"You want to join the Marauders?" Vertigo asked sarcastically as she looked at Rogue and raised an eyebrow. "Here's a little advice, girl." The green haired woman walked up to Rogue. "If you want to stay alive, keep your distance from me and the others." She warned as she turned to leave with a smile of satisfaction.

Rogue looked extremely scared and began stepping backward. "Why did ya say Ah wanted ta join here? A-Ah didn't want ta." Rogue told Gambit.

"Well, it's either I tell Essex y' wanted to join, or y' end up on his lab table for some dissection. Which one would y' prefer?" Gambit asked her and walked over to her. He noticed she was shaking and rested a gloved hand on her arm. "I promise I'll get y' outta here in two days when I go on my next assignment."

"T-thanks." Rogue stuttered and looked down.

"Got a question to ask y'." Gambit said with a sigh.

"Huh?" She looked up and looked into his red on black eyes.

"Y' always let people walk all over y'?" He asked her. "Y' should have told Vertigo to fuck off or go find a street corner. If y' just let her threaten y', she gonna keep on doin' it unless y' tell her off or punch her."

"Ah don't really wanna start a fight." Rogue replied to him quietly.

"I'm startin' to see why y'r with de X-Men. Y'r both weak." Gambit shook his head as he pulled out a pack of cards and began shuffling them.

"They ain't weak. We help mutants that can't control their powers and give them a place outta danger." Rogue glared at him as he started playing with the cards. "Excuse meh, Ah'm talkin' ta ya!" She shouted angrily. Gambit chuckled as he turned back to her. "What's so funny?" She demanded, her fists at her sides.

"Nothin', y' just look so cute when y'r angry." He grinned at her and walked past her.

**

* * *

**

"What the hell, I am not watching the wrestling." Riptide yanked the remote control out of Blockbuster's hand and switched it.

"Will you two just shut up and put something on." Arclight growled from her spot next to Scalphunter on the couch. The group of Marauders stopped their arguing when the door slammed open and Vertigo walked inside looking ticked off.

"What happened to you?" Harpoon asked raising an eyebrow.

"Sinister is started to get soft. He allowed this little girl enter our group because Gambit said she wanted to join." Vertigo snarled as she yanked Riptide out of his chair and threw him on the floor so she was sitting near Arclight, who was grinning at her.

"Well, if she is new. We should go greet her. Maybe with a little practice to see what she is made of or what her inside looks like." Malice suggested.

"Of course, I know why you are so ticked." Arclight whispered to Vertigo, who glared at her. "You're jealous. You think she is going to move in on your territory. More specifically your-." She purred.

"-Shut the hell up." Vertigo barked at her.

"This is all you people actually do? No wonder Sinister needed assistance." A male voice said as he entered the room. The Marauders turned and glared at a young man with black hair and orange eyes.

"Here's a difference, your being paid. We're not." Scalphunter growled as he stood up with his gun close to him. "Of course, I could always find some entertainment in putting a bullet into your head and say it was an accident."

The black haired man chuckled to himself as he came closer to the Marauder leader. "Do it, I dare you."

Scalphunter grinned and was about to press the trigger when Sinister's voice echoed over the intercom. "Proteus, come to my office. I have a job for you."

Proteus looked annoyed as he glanced over at the intercom on the right side of the room. "This isn't over." The black haired young man warned the Marauder as he turned to leave.

"Good, I look forward to our next meeting." Scalphunter stated as he watched the other man leave the room.

"Why can't the boss just get rid of that guy. He annoys me and if he continues, I'll kill him." Riptide growled.

"He'll be gone soon." Scalphunter informed him. "He's only here incase Magneto and the rest of his family actually figure out that his daughter really isn't dead and comes after him. He's supposed to take down the Scarlet Witch."

"I hope he does come here." Malice smirked evilly. "I'd love to taunt him." She stated as she looked down at Lorna's hand and ran them down her body. "If he wants his daughter's body back, he'll have to kill her. Because I'm never giving it up."

------------------------

He was reliving the memory again. Jean standing outside the jet, lifting them to safety while also holding back to water rushing at them. He hadn't been able to help her, just like he hadn't been able to help his family when he was younger. He remembered kissing his mother and father good-bye as their plane began to fall. His brother, Alex and he jumped from the plane with one parachute. It barely opened in time. He remembered hitting his head on a rock and falling unconscious. When he awoke, he was in an orphanage. Anytime he tried to open his eyes after that caused his optic blast to activate. He was told that his brother was found and unfortunately, dead.

"Scott?" He heard a female voice whisper his name. Scott slowly opened his eyes and didn't see the red glass of his glasses.

'What happened to my glasses? Why am I able to see without blasting a hole in the wall?' He thought instantly. He looked up to see a woman with short red hair looking back at him. His eyes widened as he shot up from his prone position and regretted it after a wave of pain shot up his back. "You need to take it easy." The woman said as she placed a delicate hand on his shoulder and eased him back down.

"Am I dead?" Scott asked. 'It can't be Jean. I saw her die. But then again, we never found her body. And for me to be able to see without a visor. That woman must have killed me.' He thought to himself.

"No honey, you're not. You were captured by a mad man named Mister Sinister. I've heard him talking about reuniting us and I had hoped he wouldn't have been able to capture you." Jean told him as she ran her fingers through his brown hair. He instantly grabbed her other hand and held it.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered and caressed her hand.

"I will never leave you." Jean said back to him and bent down and kissed him.

"How did you survive?" Scott asked as she pulled away.

"Seconds before the wave hit, I saw a bright white light and felt someone grab me and pull me into it. When I woke up, I was here. Sinister introduced himself an hour after I woke up and told me that you and I are going to help him in his quest to make the perfect mutant. I don't know exactly what he meant by it and I don't want to find out either." Jean told him.

"We'll get out of here. I swear to you." Scott swore to her and he squeezed her hand lightly. He noticed a silver collar wrapped around her neck, blinking red on the side. "What is this?" He asked her as he traced the collar with his fingers.

"It's supposed to block a mutant's powers. That's why your powers aren't working." Jean replied to him. "I can finally see your eyes. They're beautiful." She stated staring at his brown eyes. Scott registered the information and nodded. He started thinking of a plan to get them out. It would be much more difficult now. They didn't have their powers.

'I also need to see who we are against and how many people are helping him. I need to also find a way to contact the mansion.' Scott began to sit up again. He wrapped an arm around Jean's shoulder and brought her close to him. "I'll get you out of here, no matter what it takes. I can't lose you again." He whispered to her.

**End of Chapter 8 **

Special thanks to: **Loneraven, Rising Goddess, AngelofMercy86, and BlkDiamond.** Thank you guys soooo much for reviewing the last chapter :) (gives everyone a cookie)


	9. Break Out

**Disclaimer**: I do not own X-Men, if I did, the movies and comics would be much different!

"Why did I have to get stuck giving them dinner?" Scrambler muttered as he traveled down the hallway toward the cells. He had been charged to give Jean and Scott their meal for that evening.

Scrambler found the couple sitting next to each other. From the looks of it, Jean was crying and Scott was holding her. "Hey break it up." He growled. The Marauder set the tray down and got out his keys to open the door before he proceeded in.

"I just want to go back home." Jean whispered as she pulled away from Scott.

"I don't care." Scrambler rolled his eyes and set the tray on the floor. He eyed Scott as it looked like the other mutant was going to make a break for it. "Don't even think about it."

"Please." Jean said as she grabbed Scramblers arm. "You have to help us."

Scrambler smacked her arm away from him and brushed it against pants. "What the hell are you on, lady?" He glared at her before exiting the cell and slammed the door shut until he heard the click of the lock.

"Jean, are you alright?" Scott asked her, his voice filled with concern. Jean nodded with a smile. She held up in her hand a pair of keys.

"When we get back to the mansion, I have to remember to thank Ororo for teaching me a few things." Jean told him. Scott couldn't help but grin at her.

* * *

She hadn't been at Sinister's base for a day and Rogue was already beginning to want to go home. Not to mention, the Marauders made it clear to her that she was not wanted. Whenever they past her, they would either glare or talk about her loud enough for her to hear.

'Why couldn't Ah have stayed in mah room instead of visitin' him?' Rogue thought to herself as she waited on a bed in Gambit's room. The Cajun had told her to stay there before he left for his assignment since the Marauders knew better than to enter his room.

She sighed and looked around the room. It was very clean compare to Bobby's room. 'Ah wonder how he is doin'.' Rogue thought. Even though they had broken up, he had been on her mind lately. Questions such as: why did he still go out with me if he didn't have feelings for me?

'That is an easy one, Marie.' Rogue closed her eyes. 'No one wants ta date a freak like ya. Ah was holdin' him back all this time. Time he could have had ta find a girl he can. . . . touch.' She thought as a tear ran down her cheek.

"_I'm startin' to see why y'r with de X-Men. Y'r both weak."_ Replayed in her head. She wiped away the tear with her arm before her hands went into fists.

"It isn't mah fault. Ah don' want ta hurt anyone else." She whispered to herself.

"_Rogue, are you okay?" Bobby asked as he held her close as she cried. "I'm sorry; I should have taken a hold of the jet instead." He said as he rocked her in his arms. _

She had felt embarrassed about being scared when it didn't seem to faze him one bit. 'It's cause he isn't afraid of his own shadow like ya are.' She told herself.

"What, you think you are too good to be by us?" A voice sneered, breaking her away from her thoughts. Rogue looked at the door to see Vertigo standing in the doorway.

"What do ya want?" Rogue asked the other woman.

"What I want? Hm, what I want if for you to leave." Vertigo growled at her. "This is no place for little girls to play and I don't like you being around Gambit." She taunted Rogue, who stood up as Vertigo approached her.

"And Ah'm supposed ta listen ta ya, why?" Rogue snapped at her. She decided for once, she was not going to hide and actually stand up for herself.

"Fine. You want to get hurt." Vertigo muttered as she stood in front of Rogue. "Then so be it." She said as she brought her fist up and tried to punch Rogue in the face, but Rogue avoided the punch and kicked the green haired woman's legs out from under her. Vertigo hit the floor hard and glared up at Rogue. She raised her hand to activate her powers to throw Rogue off balance. Rogue kicked her hand away.

"If ya don' mind, sugah. Ah got some other things Ah would rather be doin'. Unless ya want ya're friends ta see ya on the floor after bein' knocked out bah a weaklin' such as mahself." Rogue warned as she took off her glove.

Vertigo's eyes narrowed. Sinister had made them read the reports on all the X-Men and she knew that the girl before her could kill her if she touched her. "Fine." Vertigo snarled as she got to her feet. She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "This is far from over." She warned before she turned to leave.

Rogue sighed and sat back down on the bed. "Isn' it surprisin' what ya can do when ya put y'r mind to it." She heard a voice from the corner of the room say. She looked over and saw Gambit standing there next to an open window.

"Ya were there the whole time?" Rogue questioned him.

"Not de entire time, just from de part when y' talked back to her." Remy answered.

"So ya were gonna stand there the whole time? What were ya gonna do if she had hit meh before Ah got ta her?" Rogue glared at the Cajun.

"But dat is de thing, y' didn' need help." Remy grinned at her. "Though, was surprised dat y' knew how to fight. Where did y' learn dat?" He asked.

'Logan.' She thought to herself. "What do ya think they teach us at that school? How ta act like a proper lady." She asked sarcastically.

"With how y' were actin' before, it seemed like it." Remy replied as he tossed his jacket on the bed and went over to the night stand. He dug through the drawer until he found a new pack of cards.

"There's somethin' I've been meanin' ta ask. What's with the cards?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him as he took the cards out of the pack and began shuffling them.

"Treat de cards good, dey be good to y'." Remy replied as he stopped shuffling and drew the first card. "And of course, dis be de luckiest one of de bunch." He said as he showed her the Queen of Hearts.

Rogue stared at the card, as if mesmerized by it until Remy put it back in with the rest of the cards. "I'll take y' back to y'r X-Men tomorrow, chere." He told her.

Rogue looked like she was about to protest, but didn't say anything. Half of her wanted to stay, while the other half wanted to go back home. "Alright, thanks." Rogue gave a weak smile.

Remy took her gloved hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "I must say, it hasn't been dat long, but I'll miss havn' y' here." He told her. It was nice having someone around that wasn't a complete idiot.

"Why don'tcha come with me?" Rogue asked him. He didn't seem so bad, though it would be hard explaining that to Logan. Remy gave a sad smile and shook his head.

"Wish I could, but I can't." He replied.

"Why? Ya don't seem happy here. That guy ya work for is a total creep and the others are a bunch of assholes." Rogue argued with him. "Ah know it might be hard ta get the others ta accept ya, but they'll warm up ta ya."

"It's hard to explain, chere. Y' can't betray Sinister, no one does. De man doesn't let his property get away. At de moment, his mind is occupied with his research and hopefully, he won't pay too much attention to y' bein' gone." Remy told her.

"What are ya talkin' about? How can he own you? Ya are a person; ya can make your own choices!" Rogue told him, but Remy turned his head away. "This is why ya could come back with me, we could protect ya. Ah could tell the others that this Sinister guy made ya do it." She continued to persuade him.

"What happens to y' if y' do something wrong at dis school y' at? What punishment do y' get for misbehaving?" He asked her. It was the only way for him to explain what he meant.

"Um, well, work with Logan in the Danger Room for eight hours straight. Gotta clean the bathrooms and the entire school and wash the jet which takes forever." She replied to him, trying to think of the punishments John and Bobby had gotten into.

Remy smiled at her and chuckled. "Dat be easy den here. If y' betray Sinister, dependin' on how bad it is, it's much worse. For talkin' back to him, y' could end up on his exam table and dependin' on de mood he is in will keep y' awake through it or not." He explained to her. Rogue shuddered at the thought of it.

"Den, if y' try to run from him or screw up somethin'…" Remy paused for a moment before continuing. "He has de Marauders beat y' to death, nice and slow. Y' seen how dey are, dey could careless who y' are. Of course, dat is de easy part because Sinister don't let go of his property. He clones y' a new body and puts y'r mind back in it, except he can adjust y'r memories to his liking. Y' could wake up forgetting everythin' y' did in y'r life and believe only what he wants y' to believe, but he always lets y' remember what it was like to be tortured to death." Remy explained.

Rogue felt as if her legs were going to give out. She had heard of terrible acts done on mutants and humans, but this was the sickest thing she had ever heard. She looked at the sad expression on his face and hesitantly asked him something she was almost afraid of knowing. "Did he do that to ya?" She asked him.

"Oui, tried to run. Didn't like what he was doin' to de mutants, but he found me, killed me, and brought me back. Dose memories of mine y' saw, he implanted one of dem in my mind. Which, I don't know." Remy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I learned to try to ignore de experiments he does. Just pretend dey are just clones and don't have feelin's." He added.

Rogue moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Ah'll find a way ta save ya, sugah." She whispered to him. He gave a small smile and hugged her back.

**Sinister's Office**

Proteus knocked on the door and entered, not caring if he was allowed in or not. "What do you want, Essex?" He demanded. He stayed near the door, not trusting the scientist.

"Magneto is gathering mutants. I need you to make sure he does not catch on to us. If he does, you know what to do?" Sinister asked, not bothering to look at the mutant before him. He instead continued on with his work. He had all he needed from Mr. Summers and Miss. Grey. He had no more use for them, except maybe for experimenting on.

Proteus smirked. "You're afraid of him?" He laughed at the scientist. When Essex glared at him, he decided to shut up. He had heard of what Sinister did to his experiments and knew he might end up as one of them if he wasn't careful. He owed Sinister and wouldn't be able to leave until that debt was repaid.

"There are more frightening things in this world than Erik Magnus Lehnsherr." Sinister sneered. "Now, unless you wish to waste more of my precious time, you may leave."

Proteus gave Sinister one last glance before he turned and walked towards the exit. "Whatever." He muttered.

"Soon." Sinister said to himself as he went back to his project before him.

**Storm's Room**

Ororo hummed to herself as she brushed her white hair. She couldn't believe how happy she felt. She was going on a date with Logan. She had her eye on him when he first entered, but said nothing. He seemed to have too much of an interest in Jean to ever think he might notice her.

"I pray this night will not be a disaster." She whispered to herself before she placed the brush on her dresser.

Logan waited at the bottom of the stairs for Ororo. He had been chewing on the end of his cigar for the past five minutes nervously. 'Maybe she doesn't want ta go out with me.' He thought to himself before he took the cigar out of his mouth.

"Wolvie!" Jubilee yelled as she ran down the stairs. Logan sighed. He hated that nickname. Jubilee had started it and got Kitty and Rogue to say it as well. They were the only ones allowed. If he caught Bobby or any of the others saying it, he would make sure they paid.

"What?" Logan grumbled.

"Have you seen Rogue? I asked Kitty and Bobby if they saw her. They haven't. I have them looking, but I still can't find her!" Jubilee yelled.

"I'm sure she is around here somewhere." Logan tried to assure her. He looked past Jubilee and up the stairs to see Ororo standing at the top in a beautiful tan dress. His mouth hung open as she came down the stairs. 'My . . .' He couldn't finish his thoughts. Beautiful was an understatement.

'_Logan, Ororo. I need to see you both in my office immediately.' _Charles sent telepathically to both of them. _'I have located Scott, but I found someone else with him. Jean.' _Neither Ororo nor Logan moved. They both tried to take in the information.

'She's alive.' Ororo thought to herself. She had mixed feelings running through her at that moment. She was thrilled that her best friend was alive, but was also worried. Now that Jean was alive, would Logan still want to go out with her or just cast her aside and go after Jean instead?

**End of Chapter 9**

Special Thanks to: **Loneraven, lian 4, **and **k1ttycat**. Thank you guys sooo much for reviewing the last chapter (hugs all of you and hands out X-Men cookies)


	10. Questioning Ones Self

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing! If I did own X-Men, I would make a few changes. Such as your only allowed to die three times. After that, you're not allowed to come back anymore.

"Stop it." Quicksilver growled at Pyro as he flicked his lighter open again. They were walking down the hallway of a mutant research base. Guards had attacked them, but Scarlet Witch tossed them aside as if they were mere insects.

"Why did you need us to go with you again?" X-23 growled at Wanda.

"Backup, just in case things are too easy and for entertainment." Scarlet Witch answered her. She glanced to her side to see John had his eyes lowered. "If you continue to look there, you're going to find yourself in the wall." She growled.

Pyro straightened his gaze away from Wanda's ass. Quicksilver narrowed his eyes at him. "If you even dare putting the moves on my sister, I'll kill you." He warned.

"What are you going to do? Talk me to death?" Pyro rolled his eyes at him. Quicksilver quickly grabbed Pyro's lighter and held it in his hand.

"Unless you want your nightlight back, you'll not go anywhere near my sister. Got it?" Quicksilver warned the other mutant.

"I promise I won't go anywhere near your sister." John said while his other hand was behind his back with his fingers crossed.

X-23 rolled her eyes and glanced behind her at the boys. She could smell a lie a mile away. The question was would Wanda care if she gutted them both right here? 'I'll save it for later.' She thought to herself.

"Freeze mutants." Five guards yelled as the raised their rifles at the young mutants. Scarlet Witch glared at all of them and raised her hand when X-23 smacked it away.

"Let me have my fun for once." The brown haired girl growled. Wanda sighed in annoyance. She just wanted to get Avalanche and go home. She didn't want to wait around while they slowly took out the guards one by one.

"Put your hands up." The guards yelled again. X-23 smirked and unsheathed her two claws from her hands. "Put those away now!"

X-23 only ignored them and charged right at them. One of them shot her in the shoulder, which didn't seem to faze her. The gunshot wound healed as quickly as it hit.

The brown haired mutant's claws sliced through two of the guard's guns, leaving them defenseless before she stabbed them. Two others were about to shoot when Quicksilver sped over and knocked them both into the wall before they could even blink.

The last guard trembled as he slowly backed away. "Okay, I'm done waiting." Scarlet Witch snarled as she hexed the last guard into the ceiling. "Can we go now? According to our trackers, Avalanche should be right around the corner." She told them.

"Fine." X-23 snarled as she followed behind Wanda and John.

"So, what you plan on doing when you get back to base?" Pyro asked the Scarlet Witch, who only shrugged. "Well, I was thinking of going out to a movie, if you are interested?" He suggested to her.

"Sure, whatever." Scarlet Witch muttered as she hexed off a door to the cell and found a young man sitting on a bunk with semi-short brown hair.

"What took you so long?" Avalanche sneered as he got up.

"We wasted our time to save this?" X-23 growled.

"If you know what's good for you, you will shut up and follow us. Unless you want him." She motioned towards Pyro. "To burn you alive and after you cool down. She'll" she motioned towards X-23. "Will cut you into little pieces." She warned.

"Fine, I'll come." Avalanche whispered, trying to show he wasn't scared, even if he was terrified.

**X-Jet**

"I can't believe he found her." Logan said with a hint of happiness in his voice. Ororo gave a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah it is wonderful." The weather goddess spoke. She looked out the window and at the ground with a sigh. 'Now you will forget about me and go chasing after Jean. Just like every man that has entered into the mansion.' She thought to herself.

"Uh Storm?" Logan got her attention. She turned to face the front to find the skies had darkened and it began to hail.

"Oh, sorry." Ororo apologized as she concentrated on making the weather sunny. 'This is petty of me to be jealous.' She spat at herself. 'I should be glad that Jean is alive and that Scott is alright.' She thought.

"Man, I wonder how the hell she survived. I mean, there was no way anyone could have survived that wave." Logan commented. Ororo nodded and turned away to look out the window again.

Stormed closed her eyes to concentrate on peaceful things instead of their mission. 'Think of your garden. The plants blooming to life. Just like Jean.' Ororo opened her eyes.

"_But in the end she chose the man she really loved: Scott. I may have wanted her to choose me, but I respected her no matter what."_ Ororo remembered Logan saying this to her when Scott had just left. She had believed him and deep inside her, she had hoped he had meant it and not just saying it.

'We'll find out.' Ororo thought to herself as she turned her attention to the front of the jet.

**X-Mansion**

A motorcycle pulled up next to the gate and the young woman on the back of it climbed off and handed the young man her helmet. "Thanks for bringin' meh back." Rogue said to Remy. "Though, Ah could have stayed there a little longer. It wasn't that bad." She told him.

"Nah, chere. Y' deserve a better life. One where y'll be safe and with people to take care of y'." Gambit replied to her.

"Ah don't know protectin'. Ya saw that Ah could take care of mah self." Rogue protested.

"Dat was only Vertigo. Y' wouldn't do well if she brought some of de others to help her. Believe moi, de Marauders don' play fair. Dey are like a pack of wolves dat attack anything dat goes near dem. Mess with one, de rest get mad." Gambit told her.

"Glad Ah didn't have ta witness that." Rogue said to herself. "We could hang out some more." She suggested. She really didn't want to see him go back to those awful people.

"Wish I could, chere, but I got a flight to catch in three hours." Gambit sighed. He really needed to get back. He was supposed to be leaving to Florence, Italy to pick something up for Sinister. "Maybe when I get back, I take y' somewhere nice." He mentioned to her. Rogue smiled at him and nodded.

"That would be great." She said.

Remy smiled at her. "I'll see you around, chere." He said before he kissed her hand and let it go.

Rogue watched as he took off down the street on his bike. "Bye." She whispered.

"Rogue?" She heard Jubilee's voice from behind her. She turned to see Kitty, Jubilee, and Bobby walking towards the gate.

"Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." Bobby told her.

"Sorry about that. Ah just visited a friend." She lied to them. It was only partially a lie.

"Next time tell us!" Jubilee said before she hugged Rogue. "We were so worried. Even talked to Logan, but he had to go on a mission."

"Ah promise Ah will." She swore to them.

"That reminds me, its Mall Day. You know what that means." Kitty smirked. Bobby groaned at the thought. "Me and Jubes will get the car." She said before the two other girls took off towards the garage.

"Can I ask you something?" Bobby questioned his ex-girlfriend.

"Sure." Rogue shrugged.

"You weren't really visiting a friend, were you? You followed that guy who broke in, didn't you?" Bobby asked. Though it sounded more like he was accusing her than asking a question.

"Ya Ah did." Rogue answered like it was no big deal.

"Are you nuts? You could have gotten killed. We wouldn't have been able to-" Bobby's lecture broke when Rogue cut him off.

"-listen ta me! Ah don't need ta hear this. Ah am not a child, Ah can make mah own decisions. Ah'm sick of everyone tellin' meh what ta do and decided what mah fate is gonna be. Ah'm the one that decides. No ya, Logan, or the Professor." She snapped. "And just so ya know, he ain't that bad of a guy. He brought meh back, didn't he?" Rogue told him before heading towards the garage.

She huffed and put her hands inside her pockets. Her left hand connected with what felt like a playing card. She took it out to see the Queen of Hearts staring back at her. A gave it a small smile and turned it over to see a number written and a message below it.

"_If you ever need anything, chere. Don't hesitate to call."_

**End of Chapter 10**

Special Thanks to: **Loneraven, Kagii, lovestoread, BrokenAngel1753, HopelessAzn, anon**, and **AngelofMercy86. **(Hugs you all) thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter and telling me what ya thought about it.


	11. Love Hurts

I have redone some parts of this story, some are not too big, but I highly suggest rereading **Chapter 9** otherwise this chapter might be confusing.

Disclaimer: I own Nothing, leave me alone!

"Scrambler, come to my office immediately!" Sinister's voice boomed over the intercom. The Marauder froze after hearing his name. The others looked over at him and gave him a 'nice knowing you look.' They had been working out to different simulation to prepare for Sinister's project that was coming up.

Scrambler gulped as he walked down the hallway to Sinister's office. He knew why he was being summoned. He hadn't been watching Scott and Jean carefully and they escaped. He knew he was going to be punished for it. He just prayed to whoever would listen that Sinister was in a merciful mood. He stopped in front of the door and knocked.

"Come in." Sinister ordered from inside the room. Scrambler slowly opened the door to find Sinister sitting behind his desk with a displeased look on his face. "Why are Mr. Summers and Miss. Grey missing from their cells?" He asked the Marauder who took a seat in front of him.

"I wa-watched them the entire night. There was one instance I left for a second." Scrambler explained to his boss.

"And you allowed them to escape." Sinister finished for him. He pressed a button that was hidden underneath his desk without the other mutant knowing. Scrambler sat back in his seat. As a mercenary, he didn't fear anything until he met Sinister.

"I don't know how they could have!" Scrambler tried to explain, but Sinister raised his hand and a beam shot out and struck him in the chest. Scrambler fell out of the chair and onto the floor grasping his chest.

"I don't need to hear your excuses. I thought it was an easy job making sure they did not escape. I even placed collars on both of them, but you were unable to do your job . This is most disappointing." Sinister said as he stood up from behind his desk and towered over the fallen Marauder.

"We can get them back!" Scrambler tried to explain weakly.

"I have no doubt Summers will be back in my hands, but the fact that I lose valuable time does not sit well with me." Sinister responded to Scrambler. The door opened and the rest of the Marauders entered the room. "You all know what to do." He told them before moving to the door.

"No! Boss!" Scrambler screamed as the Marauders surrounded him.

"It's such a waste to have to reclone you. Maybe this time I should up your intellect." Sinister mused before leaving. Scrambler stared in horror at the others around him.

"Nothing personal, Sung." Scalphunter told him before shooting him in the stomach. The rest of the Marauders cackled and pounced on their fellow teammate.

* * *

Scott held Jean close to him as they saw the X-Men's jet land in the field near them. They were going home and it would be together. Ever since they had left escaped from Sinister's base, they had never let go of each other's hand.

Jean gave Scott a soft smile before she kissed him on the lips. The door opened and the ramp lowered itself. Logan and Ororo came out of the jet and greeted their friends. "Jean!" Ororo hugged her friend who she thought had been dead.

"Scott." Logan greeted Scott with a nod in his direction, his eyes turned toward the two women.

"Logan." Jean smiled at the other man and hugged him. Ororo shot a glance at Scott, who was watching the two intently. More like watching where Logan was putting his hands. If he dared to even think of touching anything inappropriate, Logan would be blasted into the next state.

Jean hugged Logan as she did Ororo, not thinking anything to it. For Logan, if felt much harder. He remembered and even dreamed that he had gone to save her from death and was able to hold her in his arms.

Scott's cough broke them up and Jean turned back to Scott and held his hand. "How is it possible yer alive?" Logan asked her. Ororo sighed and stood next to him.

"I never died. Before the wave of water hit me, I was grabbed and being held prisoner. Then Scott was captured and we were reunited and were able to escape." Jean replied to him.

"Who captured ya?" Logan asked. There was no way someone could have gotten to her before the water hit her unless they were able to teleport in.

"This scientist named Mr. Sinister. I guess he collects mutant DNA." Scott answered. He hadn't met the scientist, only heard from Jean what she knew of him.

"Let's go back to the mansion, the Professor is waiting." Ororo told them.

"Shouldn't we go after that guy?" Logan asked.

"He's got a lot of men; there is no way he could take him on without more." Jean replied and at the moment, she didn't want to see the scientist ever again. All he had done was talk about how her DNA was perfect and how he wanted to collect Scott. It had frightened her that he might get his hands on the man she loved.

They headed for the jet and sat in their seats. Scott and Ororo went into the cockpit while Jean and Logan sat in the seats behind. "It's good ta have ya back, Jean." Logan told the red head before they took off.

In the front, Ororo turned her head away and felt a tear run down her cheek.

**Mall**

"Oh my god, this is so cute!" Kitty squealed as she put a pink top up against her chest. They had piles of clothes they had found to try on.

"Is that the right size? I mean it looks a little small." Jubilee mentioned to Kitty, who looked insulted.

"Are you calling me fat?" She gasped at her friend.

"Well ya have been packin' it on a bit." Rogue teased Kitty, who stuck her tongue out.

"You guys are just mean!" Kitty huffed and threw the shirt onto Piotr with the rest of her and the other girls stuff. Unfortunately, the guys had been dragged along to carry their things.

"How are you going to pay for this again?" Bobby asked as a green tank top hit the floor.

"We're not going to buy all of this. Only the things that make us look good and fit nice. I think maybe two outfits because we need to get a pair of matching shoes, purse, and jewelry." Jubilee said to him as if it was common sense.

"Why not try on one outfit and go from there." Piotr suggested, but got shot a dirty look from the girls.

"Ya are still new ta this, ain't ya?" Rogue asked him. The poor guy pined after Kitty and tried to do anything to please her.

"After this, can we get something to eat? I'm starving." Bobby complained.

"And you guys complain about me getting fat. I see the love handles on you!" Kitty poked Bobby in the side.

"Yeah, well I need it because I get treated like a donkey when I'm with you guys." Bobby grumbled as Jubilee and Kitty ran off to another department dragging Piotr with them.

"So, you like that guy?" Bobby asked Rogue now that they were alone. Rogue looked at him and thought about it.

"Yeah, he's nice." Rogue replied to him as she sorted through some of the clothes. She didn't really feel like shopping at the moment. Her thoughts were on Remy and what he had been going through. How he was still sane was beyond her. She would have gone nuts being held against her will to do bidding for a mad man.

"How? I mean, Logan said the guy was a smartass who needed a claw or two across his neck. He also snuck into the mansion to steal something." Bobby asked her. Rogue shook her head. He wouldn't understand.

"Everything is not how it seems." She told him. "He didn't do it for his own greed; he did it because he had to." Rogue explained.

"He had to sneak into the mansion? That doesn't even make sense. What did someone have a gun to his head telling him to do it or something?" Bobby shook his head, not believing what Rogue said. No one had to do anything; they did it because they wanted to.

"In a way, yeah." Rogue replied before leaving to follow Kitty and Jubilee. Bobby stood there for a second and watched her go. What did she mean by that?

* * *

Remy sat down in his seat near the window of the plane heading for Europe. Sinister was having a man meet him in Italy to give him something for Sinister. He was told to not to look at it, only to bring it to the scientist after he received it.

The flight attendant came over the intercom and instructed what to do in case of an emergency and said they would be taking off within minutes. Remy sat back in his seat and looked out the window. He tried to think back to how he ended up in this mess, unfortunately, he could no longer trust what was in his mind thanks to Sinister.

Instead, his thoughts drifted to Rogue. A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered the southern girl who stole his way into his heart. He hoped that she would be safe with her friends and forget about him and the Marauders. She wasn't cut out for this type of life he lived. 'Den again, neither am I, but I don't get a choice in de matter.' He thought to himself.

He didn't understand why Sinister had kept him. He refused to kill anyone, unlike the other Marauders. Even after part of his mind had been wiped he still refused to murder a person. He remembered his adopted father always telling him the worst thing you could steal from a person is their life. Remy figured that the only reason why Sinister put up with him was because he was able to steal and do side tasks for him.

It disturbed him when he thought about how he seemed to be ordered into Sinister's office almost every day for discussion over whatever Sinister had planned. The scientist never fussed about the other when they went on an assignment and came back. When Remy came back, he knew Sinister would have him checked over to make sure nothing had happened to him. It was strange how the scientist had no problem in having him tortured and killed, but wanted to make sure he was in perfect health.

'De man is creepy, y' thought so when y' were younger too.' He thought to himself.

He felt the plane begin to take off and ignored the man sitting next to him who was snoring. 'Wonder if chere is havin' problems at home. Dey gotta realize dat deir jet is missin'. I suppose I could always drop it off, maybe get a chance to see her again.' He mused to himself, and then shook the thought away.

It was better if she had stayed away from him, but at the same time he wanted to see her again. Maybe catch a peek in her window to see how she is couldn't hurt. As long as he did was Sinister wanted, there was no reason for him to be suspected of anything.

**End of Chapter 11**

Sorry this is short, I am trying to get back into writing this again. I'll try to make the next chapter longer! I'm sure no one is reading this story anymore after 3 yrs.


	12. Returning to the Mansion

Couldn't resist, had to update. I got little plot bunnies running through my head and they are giving me a headache.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did, ALL the X-Men movies would be redone (well some parts of XOW can stay other parts need to go)

* * *

Wanda marched into her father's office, knocking down the door on her way in. Magneto was discussing something with Mystique and both looked and the enraged girl. "You did such a wonderful job on your children." Mystique commented sarcastically and raised an eyebrow at Wanda.

"Is this important?" Magneto asked, ignoring Mystique comment.

"Yeah, how come we're not finding those people that killed Lorna? All we have been doing in gathering a bunch of mutants. I want those people to pay." Wanda growled and walked up to her father. She was one of the few who dared to step this close to the elder mutant without fear.

"We need more allies if we are to take down the human society. They are the threat. Once we are done with them, we will be safe and Lorna will be avenged." Magneto told her and turned around, only to find the things on his desk floating.

"That is not avenging her. That is going with your stupid idea of getting rid of every human and only leaving mutants. The only ones that need to suffer are those who killed my sister. I am tired of gathering mutants for you to use as puppets. You don't give a damn about any of them." Wanda yelled causing the walls to bend. Mystique got up from her chair and began to step slowly towards the exit. "Don't go anywhere." Wanda looked over at the woman.

"How do you suppose we go about Lorna's death? Hunt down those who killed her and then what? More people out there still want us gone. Do I need to wait until Pietro or you have been killed by a mob?" Magneto said calmly to his daughter. Pietro came into the room and looked around and saw Wanda's fists glowing. He had heard noise coming from down in the other room.

"Why now?" She glared at him. Pietro moved into the room and approached his sister, but she raised her hand causing him to stop in place. "You never called us or visited us when we were little. You never wanted anything to do with us. We saw Lorna more times than we saw you." Her eyes narrowed at her father. Pietro stayed quiet, but looked at Magneto for his answer. He had been wondering the same thing.

"I have wanted to keep you out of harm." Magneto began to explain when a plant was smashing into the wall.

"Don't lie!" Wanda yelled. "If you wanted us out of harm's way, why are we being used now? All because you finally found an excuse to use to start a war. You never gave a shit about any of us." Wanda told him, some of the other members of the Brotherhood entered the room.

"Well?" Pietro folded his arms over his chest and looked at his father.

"I am doing this to protect us all. I loved all of you. It was hard seeing you after your mother died." Magneto explained and Wanda growled and took a step forward.

"You were never there for her. You ran off after and cheated on her with Lorna's mom. She was left to raise us by herself and you never once helped. She talked about you like you were a hero, not knowing you are really a villain." Wanda snarled and smacked him across the face. She was finally able to release her built up rage she had for her father all these years. At first she thought she could try to work things out and he really wanted to avenge Lorna, but he was just being selfish and using his own daughter's death as an excuse.

X-23 moved forward and Wanda glared at her. She expected the brown haired girl to be on Magneto's side; instead she stood next to Magneto and looked at him. She tilted her head and sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed at the elder man. "You are no better than the ones that created me." She snarled and left the room.

"I'm done; I'll avenge Lorna my own way." Wanda told Magneto before turning around, Pietro grabbed her by the arm.

"No, we both are done." Pietro said, sticking with his sister. The twins left the room with the rest of the Brotherhood standing there.

John looked at Magneto then looked at the door that the others had just left. 'Stay with another old guy who is following his dream or follow his hot daughter.' John thought to himself. He smiled to himself before turning to Magneto.

"See ya, pops." Pyro waved to Magneto before following the other three out the door.

**X-Mansion**

Professor Charles Xavier was teaching his Major British Writers class when he felt the presence of his former student enter the building. He gave a soft smile and shut the book on his desk. "That will be all for today." He told his younger students. Some of them had already packed their belongings and rushed out of the room to enjoy the rest of the day. Others stayed behind to ask him questions of what could be on their next exam.

"You will want to make sure you go over all the review questions I assigned. Anything I have asked during this course could be on the next test." Charles instructed to the blond girl, who was writing down all the information.

"Thanks, Professor." The girl said before leaving. Logan, Ororo, Scott, and Jean were in the doorway and made room for the young girl to leave. Before she left, she looked at Jean and her mouth dropped open. Everyone in the school had known that Jean had died and to see her standing there was a shock.

"What you starrin' at, kid?" Logan asked the girl, who looked embarrassed and ran off finally.

"Jean, it is good to see you." Xavier said before the red haired woman gave him a hug. "I had a feeling we hadn't lost you quite yet, but I was unable to detect your presence." Jean went into explaining what had happened to her and Scott, how they were captured by a man named Mr. Sinister and how she tricked the lackey and stole his key.

"I owe you." Jean told Ororo who sat on the opposite side of Logan. The white haired woman gave a small smile and looked over at Logan to find him looking at Jean. Though it was not detectable through his glasses, Scott was glaring at Logan. He didn't trust the other man near his girlfriend and kept a close eye on both.

"I have heard of this Mr. Sinister." Charles said and leaned back in his wheelchair with a serious expression on his face. The stories he had heard were ones that would make people's stomach squirm by just the thought of it.

"The man was terrifying. When we've gone against Magneto, I've never felt dread. But just being in this man's presence I felt my hair's on the back of my neck stand up." Jean whispered and shuddered at the thought of her capture and all the times Sinister had visited her.

"Yes, he is not one to be taken lightly. From what I've heard, he is a geneticists though some claim he is not a mutant, it has never been proven. He captures mutants and tests their potential. If he finds mutants that are weak and have no worth, he has them wiped out or experiments on them to find out different reagents that work on a mutant body." Charles explained.

"Why don't we hunt down this guy? He is doing the same thing Stryker did." Logan growled. Images of the school being attacked by those men who worked for Stryker still haunted his mind. All the kids running for their lives and some being captured, not to mention the screams of terror. He didn't want it to happen again. Especially since the last time, it had almost costs them one of their own.

"Unfortunately, I am not able to read him. He is like a ghost on Cerebro." Charles told Logan. "We will have to step up the security. I have a feeling we are not done with him, especially if you two escaped. Which brings me to our next matter; our friend in the cells has escaped."

"How the hell did he get out? There is no way he could have gotten out." Logan said.

"What happened?" Scott asked, trying to get caught up on what he missed while he was gone.

"A mutant by the name of Gambit broke into the mansion. We were able to apprehend him for a while." Ororo answered and then looked at Xavier. "Do you think he worked for this Mr. Sinister?" She asked Charles.

"It is possible. He stated he had no alliance with Magneto." Charles told the group.

"The kid was probably lyin'. Ya should have let me beat it out of him." Logan stated and took out a cigar from his breast pocket of his flannel red shirt. Charles looked at him. "I ain't gonna light it." He defended himself before a knock at the door was heard.

"Professor? Sorry we missed class." Kitty, Bobby, Rogue, Jubilee, and Piotr stepped into the office and spotted Jean. "Oh my god! Miss. Grey!" Kitty squealed and ran to hug her favorite teacher. The others went to welcome her back.

"Why did you skip class?" Charles asked and folded his hands on his desk.

"Well you see, we had gone out to breakfast this morning and then when we were on our way back, this bus broke down and caught on fire-" Jubilee began to say when Rogue cut her off.

"We went shopping." Rogue stated, getting a dirty look from Jubilee. She didn't see the point in lying to a telepath and especially with Logan in the room.

"We're sorry." Kitty sighed and looked down her hands behind her back. "What's our punishment?" She asked.

"I would like each of you to come up with a two page essay on why you believe it was more important to go shopping instead of attending my lecture." Xavier instructed them.

"I hate papers." Bobby groaned. "Can it be doubled space? Also can we use a fourteen or fifteen letter font?" He pleads. Rogue shook her head at her ex-boyfriend. They all knew it was wrong to ditch class and did it anyway.

'What punishment do y' get for misbehavin'?' She could hear Remy's voice in her head. She remembered what he said about what happened to him or anyone else that had been punished for defying Sinister.

'And here he's complainin' about a stupid paper?' Rogue shook her head at Bobby.

"It is to be eleven font and doubled space. And do not try to start the paper half way down the page or I will ask you to rewrite it. Also I will be checking for spelling and grammar marks." Xavier told the teens.

"Okay Professor. We'll give it to you by next week." Jubilee said and went with the others out the door, with the exception of Rogue.

"Ah want more than that." Rogue said quietly. The four X-Men looked at her in surprise. None of the students ever asked for more punishment.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jean asked Rogue.

"Ah'm fine. Ah think we should have ta do more. We knew it was wrong and did anyways." Rogue looked at Charles, who also looked surprised.

"That is all I require you to do. Unless you would like to work in the Danger Room with Logan." Charles said and ignored the look Logan gave him. The other mutant hated having to work with the kids in the Danger Room, he only liked working out by himself.

"That would be good." Rogue smiled at Professor Xavier. "Ah'm sorry Ah skipped your class." She apologized.

"It is quite alright, Rogue." Charles nodded to the young woman before she left the room.

"She seems to be growing up faster than the others." Ororo commented to the others, who agreed.

**Florence, Italy**

Remy sat at a diner outside listening to people talk as they passed by and the cars rushing by in a hurry. He watched each person pass by him. Some would be a mother dragging her crying child and scolding it while they walked. Another guy was rushing by on his cell phone, apparently making a deal with some company that would earn him millions from the sound of it. Couples passed by, holding each other as they walked.

'Y' have no idea how lucky y' are.' He thought to himself as he watched them. He turned his head when he heard someone approach his table. It was a man that stood about five foot seven and wore a faded grey cloak on his shoulders that he had wrapped his body in and his face was covered by a scarf wrapped around his head. Only his blackish brown eyes appeared.

"Are you Mr. LeBeau?" The man asked.

"Oui." Remy said and waved his hand, motioning for the stranger to take a seat. He was told by Essex that the person would know where to find him and he just had to wait.

"My name is Ozym-" He began to say when Remy cut him off.

"Don't really care what y'r name is. Do y' have de thing for Essex?" Remy asked him, starring into the stranger's eyes. He just wanted to get this job over with a go back to New York. As much as he loved exploring Europe, his mind was on another matter he wanted to take care of or rather someone.

"Yes." The stranger pulled out a large folded yellow envelope from his cloak and handed it to Remy. A few people stared at the stranger, but he did not seem fazed. He had grown accustomed to it a long time ago. "My employer says that Mr. Essex should have no problem deciphering it." He said before standing up.

"Oui, I'm sure of it." Remy shrugged and placed the envelope in his inner coat. "Merci." He nodded to the stranger before he left. 'I hate dese jobs. Essex knows de weirdest people.' He shudder before standing up himself and left a tip for the waitress and paid for his coffee he didn't even bother touching.

He looked down at his watch and saw that it was still early and his flight wouldn't be leaving until later on that night. A small smile crept on his face as he left the diner and started walking down the streets. 'Could always pick up Rogue a little present while I'm here.' He thought to himself.

End of Chapter 12

Special Thanks to: blackrose5242, mylove24, tfobmv18, marvelchick, and FluidDegree. Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter! I really appreciate the feedback!

I am not sure when the next chapter will be out, I am hoping for another update in April, depending on how much free time I get.


	13. Trust

Sorry for the lack of updates for this story, it is now summer so I shall be updating this more! I have worked out the entire story and know for a fact that it will be around 28-29 chapters long.

Special Thanks to: **blackrose5242, tfobmv18, Wanda W**, and **coup fatal**. Thanks so much for taking the time to review and telling me what you think so far. I promise I will try to expand the chapters and make them longer.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; there I said it, happy?

* * *

Jean was busy preparing lunch for everyone with Scott sitting on the stool of the island. He was told he could bring her stuff she needed, but was not allowed to help. There had been an incident when they were teenagers where Scott had accidently started the kitchen on fire and after that was no longer to preparing any meal.

"Are you sure I can't help you with something or maybe ask Ororo to cook. You just got back yesterday." Scott suggested to her. She turned around and glared at him and he put his hands up. He knew he should have known better. You don't get between Jean and her cooking.

"I'll be fine. At least this gives me room to move around instead of sitting in one spot." Jean told him as she started cutting up bread.

"Whatcha cookin'?" Logan asked as he and Ororo entered the kitchen. Logan sat two seats away from Scott and watched Jean prepare lunch. Ororo sighed in frustration and went over to her friend.

"Do you need any help?" Ororo asked as she picked up the used bowl and carried it to the dishwasher.

"I am almost done." Jean responded to her with a friendly smile. She could sense something off in her white haired friend. Normally, the other woman had a pleasant smile on her face, but Jean hardly seen it since she had been back. "Can I speak with you in the other room?" She asked the white haired woman, catching her by surprise.

"Of course." Ororo replied and followed the red head out, catching one glance at Logan and Scott who were glaring at each other. She followed Jean through the side door to the outside.

"Is everything alright?" Jean asked her friend. The two had been closer than sisters and had looked after one another since Ororo arrived at the mansion. They always knew when one or the other was upset and knew they were both too stubborn to come out and express their problems openly.

"Everything is fine." Ororo said to Jean, who gave her a disapproving look. "Okay, maybe not." She sighed and sat down on the stoop by the door. "Logan and I decided to start something and I thought he was over you. He told me he was. He told me he respected your opinion on choosing Scott, but ever since you came back, it's like he has forgotten his own words."

Jean sat down next to her and placed a comforting arm around her. "Have you talked to Logan about this? Maybe if he knew what you were thinking, he might realize that it is hurting you." She suggested.

"I guess." Ororo said and ran her hand through the soil around the bush next to the entrance. So many years she had taken care of her garden, it always calmed her when she had feelings of anxious, frustration, or sadness in her life. It was the same with Jean. The other woman always was there to try and help her overcome any problem that stands in her way.

"Listen, Logan had a crush that is all. I have no feelings for him, except for those of a friend. You are very special woman and if he doesn't open his eyes and sees it, it's his loss." Jean gave the other woman's shoulder a small squeeze before retracting it.

"Shall we go back inside? It is not a good idea to leave those two alone. I know both get along for the sake of it, but the peace only lasts as long as one of us in watching them." Ororo smiled to Jean before she stood up.

"Don't remind me. How are they during Danger Room sessions?" Jean asked as she opened the door and held it for Ororo.

"Scott gives orders and Logan does what he wants anyways. Scott yells at him, and Logan flips him off." Ororo replied as she came in and found the two men sitting at the counter still, neither looking at one another.

**Upper Level**

"This sucks." Kitty whined as she deleted another sentence from her paper on her laptop. The five teenagers were sitting in Kitty's room working on their punishment from the Professor. "Everything I write sounds like crap. Why did I go to the mall instead of attending class?" Kitty tapped her finger to her chin.

"Because we didn't want to read a bunch of boring books with no spark notes." Jubilee shrugged and then wrote it down on her pad of paper.

"I think he purposely picks those books to bore us to death. I don't want to look for symbolism or any of that stuff. Just come out and say what you are talking about." Bobby said and leaned against the back of Kitty's bed from his place on the floor next to Piotr.

"What do ya have so far?" Rogue asked Piotr, who looked down at his computer.

"I realize my mistake in ditching class and swear I will never do it again. That's all I have." Piotr responded to the southern girl.

"This is impossible to write. He knows that anything we write will make us look bad and feel stupid." Kitty complained and exited the notepad window and switched to her MySpace page. "Ugh, there is this guy that keeps hitting on me on this thing. I don't even know how he found me. Though he is kind of cute." She said as she strolled down to see what he wrote.

"Ah think he wants to make sure we regret ditchin' the class and how stupid it was for us to go to the mall instead." Rogue replied.

"What do you have written since you seem to be the only one who is actually getting somewhere?" Jubilee asked Rogue, who scrolled up and began reading her paper.

"Ah made a terrible judgment call on ditching class and going to the mall. My grades are more important than goin' on some trip just for fun. School is what will get me through life, even if there are times it can be boring and Ah wanna tear my hair out because it is frustrating tryin' to understand what my professor wants from me. They take the time out of their day to make sure we understand and grasp what they are tryin' to teach. By not showin' up to class it was disrespectful, especially since Ah could have gone out some other time." Rogue said with a shrug. "Ah just sorta wrote down some ideas so far then Ah'll compose it inta a paper." She explained.

"You're further than we are." Bobby commented as he tapped on the computer keys. "Maybe we should go to the coffee shop and write this? At least it is better than sitting around here."

"No, you know what that does to them." Piotr whispered to Bobby and they turned their heads back to look at the brown and black haired girls.

"Ah can't. Ah gotta meet Logan in the Danger Room in thirty minutes." Rogue told them and clicked save on her assignment.

"Ouch, what did you do to deserve that?" Jubilee asked with a sympathetic look on her face.

"Ah wanted more than just to write a paper. What we did was wrong, knew it, and did it anyways. This is why most of the adults don't take us seriously at times. Ah mean, we are eighteen or nineteen years old between the five of us and we are still actin' like fifteen or sixteen. We deserve harsher punishment for what we did." Rogue told them and sat back in her chair, not knowing if she got through to them. From the look on Piotr's face, he understood.

"I guess." Bobby shrugged his shoulders. He looked over at the other two girls who remained quiet.

"Ah'll meet ya guys later. Ah gotta put this back in my room." She said as she closed the window to her paper and clicked shut down. She careful shut the laptop and picked it up.

"See ya later." Jubilee waved to Rogue with her right hand as the southern girl left. "She seems different." She commented to her friends.

"I think it has to do with what happened when she followed that guy." Bobby told the others.

"Or maybe she realized something we all should have." Piotr said to them.

**Lower Level**

After lunch, Ororo took Jean's advice and pulled Logan aside from the other couple. "What's the matter?" Logan asked her with a small hint of concern in his voice. Normally he kept his voice without showing any emotion and it was rare for him to show it unless something tragic had happened.

"You told me once that you respected Jean's choice to choose Scott, is this still true?" Ororo asked him, taking him by surprise.

"Is this what ya are worried about, darlin'?" Logan looked down at her and she nodded. "I had feelings for her when I first came here and when I came back, but she didn't want me. I ain't stupid. I know she loves Scott. It's still a lot ta take in the fact she's alive again." Ororo looked off to the side before Logan took her smaller hand into his larger one.

"If ya are afraid of me chasin' after her again, ya don't have ta worry. I might have had feelings in the past for her, but they weren't as strong as the ones I got for you." He told her, causing her to look him in the eyes.

"Do you mean it?" She asked him, wanting to make sure she heard him correctly.

"Of course." He smiled before he kissed her. Ororo kissed him back before they finally broke apart. "I wish I could stay at the moment, but gotta Danger Room session with Rogue in a few minutes. Gotta make sure everythin' prepared." Logan grumbled.

Ororo chuckled. "It's alright. I will see you later?" She looked at him and waited for an answer.

"Of course, darlin'." He replied before kissing her one last time.

**Upper level**

Rogue made her way down the hallway three doors down from Kitty's. Some of the younger students were running up and down the hall playing games. She smiled at them as she passed them and opened her door.

She set her laptop down on her desk and turned towards her bed to find a yellow rose with red tips with a note underneath. A small smile spread across her lips as she sat down on her bed and picked up the rose and smelt it. She held it in her hand as she opened a small white envelope and read the note inside.

_Hope they are treating you well. I'll be at the Brick Café off by Main Street around eight if you wish to join me._

_Remy_

Rogue folded the note up and looked over at the clock. It was currently one and knew with Logan it would be four hours of Danger Room exercises. "Ah should be able ta make it." She whispered to herself as she smelt the rose one last time before placing it on her nightstand.

**Sinister's Lab **

Remy walked through Sinister's lab and shivered as he saw an experiment lying strapped to the metal table and was unconscious. A clone of Scrambler was being created in one of the many tube against the wall. 'Serves y' right.' Remy thought to himself. He didn't particularly like any of the Marauders, only put up with them.

Scrambler had always shown his dislike for Remy by trying to get him killed on missions and getting him in trouble with the others. Remy wasn't fond of him and it seemed like the other Marauders weren't either. The others usually left Scrambler out of going out or during training would pick on him the most. Remy didn't understand this, but he could also careless.

Scalphunter was the only one that he would be caught hanging around with. The man treated him with respect and not like a little kid as some of the others did. When Sinister had brought Remy to his lab when he had been younger, Scalphunter had watched over him to make sure he didn't try to run out. He also helped Remy enhance his hand to hand combat that he learned in the four years with the Thieves Guild.

Vertigo annoyed him out. The woman never seemed to leave him alone and got very clingy to him as he got older. She always tried to stand close to him or wrap her arm around his. One time she tried to kiss him and that was when he told her he wasn't interested in her and never would be. He had no feelings for the green haired woman and wanted to be left alone.

He left the lab and headed down the hallway towards Sinister's lair, knowing if the man wasn't in his lab torturing people, he was there. He passed by the new person Sinister had hired, but didn't pay much mind to him. He was only here for a short while. 'Unless Sinister back stabs him.' He thought to himself before he pushed open the door to the other room and found Sinister.

The room was circular with yellow dimmed lights from the ceiling highlighting the metal walls. Grey wires circled the ground from the ends of the room to meet in the middle and attaching themselves to a large metal throne where Sinister was currently sitting. The air always seemed thinner in this room than the others. Small fragments littered the ground around the chair; one Remy recognized was a skull that sat on the right side of the throne. Remy held his thoughts to himself as he entered knowing the scientist could read his mind. None of the Marauders seemed to have a problem with this room, Remy was the only one that was disturbed by it and he sometimes thought Sinister knew.

"Got what y' wanted." Remy said as he entered the room and took out the envelope from his coat and held it in his right hand. He proceeded forward and handed it to Sinister.

"Very well, you may rest up for the day, but I want you to meet me in my lab around five." Sinister ordered to him.

"Oui." Remy sighed and turned to leave. He heard Sinister stand up behind him and closed his eyes. He knew right then his mistake. Sinister did not give him permission to leave yet. 'Please just let me go.' He though to himself, not caring if the other man heard him or not.

"There is one other mattered I wish to discuss with you." Sinister walked up next to Gambit. The younger mutant turned and faced the cold red eyes staring at him. It was hard to keep eye contact without trying to break the gaze. "Explain why you lied about the girl?" He asked and notice Remy gulp. He knew that the young man had been lying about Rogue and let it slide because he needed Gambit to go to Italy for him. However, he would not let him think he got away with it or anything else. The last thing he wanted was to think Remy had free will to do what he wanted. That would only cause unnecessary problems for Sinister.

"She was on de plane I stole to get back here." Remy explained and flinched when Sinister stepped closer, almost expecting the man to hit him. "She not gonna cause any trouble." He continued before Sinister grabbed him around the throat with his right hand and lifted him off his feet. Remy's hand's held onto Sinister's arm to try and break lose.

"You better hope for your and her safety she does not. If the X-Men or Brotherhood find us, I will hold you responsible. I will have her killed and you know your punishment." Sinister warned Remy, who was beginning to see spots in his vision due to lack of oxygen. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Oui." Remy croaked as his fingers dug into the scientist's black glove. Sinister dropped the younger man to the ground carelessly. Remy didn't move from where he landed at the Sinister's feet and started to regain his breathing and rubbed his neck. He didn't dare look up as the other moved back to the throne. He would never say to Sinister's face, but he did not regret in helping Rogue escape. He never meant for anyone else to get involved and wished he had made sure no one was on the jet before he took off. He didn't care what happened to himself as long as Sinister didn't lay a hand on the girl that had touched his heart for the brief moments he knew her.

"You may leave." Sinister ordered to Remy, who finally got off the floor and headed for the door.

**End of Chapter 13**

I went onto a site to learn the meaning of different roses since I had no idea what they meant. I never knew there were so many colors of roses. Anyways, for those who don't know (like myself before I read) a yellow rose with red tips means friendship or falling in love.

I am not sure if it is next chapter or the one after, but I am got some major Scott/Jean plans coming up since I feel like I am neglecting them a bit.


	14. Stand By You

I usually find a song that represents each fic I write and finally found a song for this story. this one's them is I'll Stand By You by The Pretendors. I pretty much listened to this song on repeat while I wrote this chapter and it does pretty much sum of this fic.

Special Thanks to: **blackrose5242, RogueonFire, Wanda W**, **casey21791**, and **amyln** .Thanks for taking the time to review and telling me your thoughts on the story so far (hugs you all)

Disclaimer: I write for my own amusement not for money, I'm only borrowing the characters, don't own em.

* * *

Rogue leaned against the wall of the Danger Room as the city streets disappeared and left only a metal room. Logan was walking towards her as she wiped her forehead from the sweat. He had been drilling her on different simulations for the past three hours with only two five minute breaks in between.

"Ya did good, kid." Logan told her. He was impressed that she didn't complain about everything like some of the others. There was always moaning and groaning and lack of effort when some of the other students had to run through a simulation for only an hour.

"Thanks. Are we gonna run another tomorrow?" Rogue asked him and stretched her arms.

"Nah, ya did good. Consider this part of your punishment over with. Your friends are gonna begin tomorrow." Logan responded to her. Rogue gave a small chuckle imagining the others surprise when they would be pushed harder in the Danger Room than before. She could almost hear Jubilee and Kitty's whining, Bobby's groaning, and Piotr having an unpleasant look on his face.

"Get em good." Rogue said to him as she made her way to the Danger Room. "Ah'll be goin' out ta the coffee shop. Ah'll be back before eleven." She told him before she passed by Ororo who entered the Danger Room.

"Be careful." Logan warned before she shut the door. He didn't know if she heard him, but he trusted her judgment. She was beginning to show she could be trusted. He felt proud of the girl he found on the streets and brought to the school. She had grown up so fast in the short amount of time they knew each other.

"Said the poppa bear to his cub." Ororo teased Logan as she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. Logan chuckled and kissed her back.

"Just protective of my girls. Don't want anyone messin' with them." Logan told her and pulled back away from her. He didn't want to get his sweaty shirt on her blouse. She didn't seem to mind. "Ya mind if I shower, then maybe take ya out?" He asked her.

Ororo smiled and ran her hand down his jaw line. "I suppose, depending on where we are going?" She asked him before she kissed his cheek. "Please tell me it isn't some restaurant or anything fancy."

Logan raised an eyebrow and looked at her surprised. He always took her as a woman who wanted to be treated with the best. "No?" He asked.

Ororo gave a small smile and shrugged. "I enjoy it once in a while, but I don't need any of that. I just want to go out and have a good time for once. To be able to forget about my duties here and be able to feel free." She explained to him.

"Well, I think I can find a place to show you a good time." Logan promised her and kissed her. "I'll see ya in a half hour, darlin'."

"I look forward to it." Ororo smiled at him before they broke apart. He headed for the men's locker room to shower and she exited to run to her office to finish off the last two tests she needed to grade. After that, she was going to forget all about the worries she had at the school and enjoy herself.

**Outside**

Scott and Jean walked side by side through Ororo's garden holding hands. The sun was beginning to set in the distance lighting the sky red, orange, and yellow. The aroma of fresh flowers filled the air. Few clouds were in the sky and a small breeze blew through brushing away Jean's hair from her face.

Scott looked over at her and smiled. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had thought he lost the woman he loved and she returned to him. When he thought she had been killed, he felt as if he had failed her. He promised her nothing would happen to her and then broke that promise when she was had been 'killed'.

"Looks like Ororo's flowers are blooming." Jean broke the silence between them as they stopped near the lilies.

"Yeah, she spent a lot of time out here after what happened to you." Scott said to her. He remembered either Logan or himself having to drag the white haired woman inside to eat and go to sleep because she had been so distraught over losing her friend. She used her garden as a distraction to cure the pain.

Jean looked down sad at the flowers. She didn't want to cause her friends or Scott such heartache. She wished she could go back and been able to stop Sinister before he grabbed her, but she had been too weak at the time. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him.

Scott turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I should be the one to say sorry for not being able to protect you. I should have shoved Logan out of the way and helped you. You shouldn't have had to face it by yourself. I should have gone with you so we could have gone together. After you were gone my life was meaningless. I had no motivation to get up in the morning like I had before. You are the meaning of my life Jean and I love you so much." Jean felt tears swell in her eyes at Scott's words. She felt exactly the same way. He was the reason why she risked her life.

"I love you too, Scott." Jean whispered before she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck keeping him close.

"Jean I. . ." He hesitated and looked down at the ground nervously. "I love you and never want to be separated from you again." He told her.

"I won't ever leave without you again." She swore to him and leaned into him, but he pulled back.

"Jean." He said before taking her hand in his and getting down on one knee. "I wanted to do this before, but never got the chance." He reached into his pocket and his fist closed around a small object. He brought his hand out and a held a ring up. It had a small red diamond in the center followed by an alternate of white and pink diamonds surrounding it that ran into a silver band.

"Will you marry me?" He asked her. Jean felt a tear slid down her cheek as she stared down at him. How many years she had waited to hear him ask her this. How many nights she had dreamed he would ask he to be his wife. The setting was better than what she could have ever imagined. Her smile never left her face as she finally answered him.

"Yes." She cried and bent down beside him and hugged and kissed him. Scott held the ring inside his hand not to lose it as he held her close. When they finally broke apart he slid the ring onto her finger.

**Brick Café **

A couple was walking out of the café and held the door open for Rogue as she walked inside. "Thanks." She said to them and looked around. Oldies music was playing softly in the background and the lights were dimmed. It wasn't too crowded with the exception of a small group of teenagers in the middle that had put three tables together.

She smiled as she spotted Remy in the corner of the café sitting in a booth. She slowly made her way over to him and he smiled at her. "I see y' got my note." He said as she sat down across from him. "Y' want me to get y' somethin'?" He asked her, but she shook her head.

"Ah'm fine. Ah had dinner before Ah came here." Rogue replied and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked up at him and frowned at the sunglasses covering his eyes. She hated him having to cover his majestic red on black eyes, but knew it could cause trouble if some anti-mutant people walked in. "So, how was your trip?" She asked him and leaned her arms on the table.

"It was borin'. Just gettin' stuff for Essex, dat's all." Remy shrugged and leaned back in his seat. He didn't really want to talk about what he did for Sinister. "Let's talk about y', now dey been treatin' y' good, or do I have to kick some ass?" He asked her.

"No, Ah've been fine. After ya dropped me off Ah went out with my friends to the mall. We kinda ditched class and got in trouble for it." Rogue told him and saw the sadden expression on his face.

"What's it like?" He asked her as he leaned his arms on the table and looked at her. "What's it like to be around people y' consider friends?" He whispered. It had been so long since he had been around anyone that he could consider a friend. The last would have been when he was with the Thieves Guild, but most of that was forgotten. For years he had been forced to work with the Marauders and for Sinister. All that time he had been miserable until he met her. She seemed to be the one thing that had lightened up his darkened life.

"It's fun Ah guess. They understand me and know about my powers. They know when Ah'm sad and try ta cheer me up. Especially Jubilee. Ah swear bein' around that girl for two minutes can crack ya up. Every little thing she does either annoys her and she tries ta get even. Her and Kitty like goin' back and forth, especially when it comes to men, movies, or gossip around the school. Once in a while Ah'll join in, but it's more fun watchin' them go. Sometimes Bobby will join in and they beat him down." Rogue began explaining. Remy placed his elbow on the table and rested his head on against his knuckles as he listened to her. She sounded so happy where she was, something he wished he had.

"Ah swear the boy doesn't learn sometimes. Ah mean, ya don't ever call a girl fat unless ya want to be kicked in the nuts." Rogue stopped talking and flushed. She didn't mean to ramble on about her friends. "Sorry." She whispered.

"Non, I enjoyed hearin' about it." He smiled at her. "Sounds great."

"Yeah." Rogue said, remembering what he lived with. She had seen his memories and knew there weren't many happy ones. She had seen the reason why he had tried to run away from Sinister. She had seen him and the Marauders walking through an underground tunnel and found a group of mutants. Sinister had told him that he wanted the mutant captured, but gave the others the order to kill.

As soon as the mutants were found, the killing began. Remy tried to stop the others, but they didn't listen. They continued their onslaught against the defenseless group. Bodies laid everywhere as blood smeared the walls of the tunnels. Women and children were screaming and running for their lives as the men tried futilely to fight the Marauders off. He did the only thing he could do, he helped some of them escape, but even that didn't save too many. Hundreds had died because he found the layouts of their home and brought a bunch of killers to their doorstep.

After the massacre, he fled from Sinister's service, but was hunted down and brought back. Sinister was displeased by his escape and punished him severely for it. Rogue shuddered as she could almost feel the Marauders beating him to death. "Ah'm sorry for that. Ah know ya don't got a lot of happy memories." She told him.

Remy turned away from her, feeling disgusted about himself. He hated the fact she knew what he had done. He figured the sight of him disgusted her. She probably thought he was a monster.

"Y' should probably be getting' back to y'r school. Sorry I dragged y' out here. Sorry I got y' caught up in my mess." Remy shook his head and began to get up, but Rogue caught his wrist in her gloved hand.

"Ya don't have ta be. Ya didn't force me ta come, Ah came cause Ah wanted to. Ah know whatcha been through. Ah saw everythin' ya've done in your life and what you felt at the time." Rogue told him.

"Why y' still here? I'm disgusted dat I listen to dat monster. I'm disgusted with myself for all de things he's made me do." Remy told her, refusing to look at her. She was so pure to him, almost like an angel. Here he works for the devil and was tainted. He didn't understand why she cared, especially since she had seen his memories.

"Ya didn't have a choice. Ah know ya hate what he does and everythin', but ya ain't like the others. Ah saw your disgust at what he does. Ah know ya ain't a killer, even if he tried ta make ya one." Rogue held his hand in hers. "Ya are a good person who didn't have a choice in their life." She took his other hand and held it also.

"Ah swear there has ta be somethin' that can defeat Sinister. Every person or mutant has ta have a weakness. We'll find it and kill that bastard." Rogue promised him.

"Been lookin' for somethin' against him for years and haven't found it." Remy sighed. "Y' shouldn't waste y'r time on me, I ain't worth it." He told her, but Rogue glared at him.

"Ya can push me away, but Ah won't budge. Ya called the X-Men weak, but ya are actin' like it by given up on yaself. Ah don't care if ya don't want my help, ya got it anyways. No matter what that bastard makes ya do, Ah'll always stand by ya." Rogue told him. "Now stop bein' a thick skulled swamp rat and accept my help."

Remy chuckled, his advice came back to bite him in the ass. "Oui, chere."

"Do ya know what Sinister is up ta?" Rogue asked him curiously. She thought maybe she could get something to tell the adults. Although, she knew she would have to find some way to tell them without saying she met the enemy in a coffee shop.

Remy thought about if he should tell her the information he knew. If Sinister found out, he would be dead for sure. At the same time, she knew about as much as he did from her short time at Sinister's lair. The only way he was going to be able to help himself was if he told her what he knew, which wasn't much. **"**Non, he's been keepin' things quiet lately. Though, he has upped his security, he so he's got somethin' planned. Don't know what he got from Paris, but anythin' he does never has good results." Remy told her what he knew.

They spent the next half hour talking before Rogue looked down at her watch. "Crap, Ah gotta go. Ah promised Logan Ah would be back before eleven." She cursed and looked at him sympathetically. She didn't want to leave just yet, but didn't want to break the trust she was gaining from the adults.

"I should be gettin' back too before anyone get's suspicious." Remy said before he got out of the booth and held out a hand to help her out. She smiled at him and took his hand and let him help her up.

"When's the next time ya can meet?" She asked him.

"Maybe in two days just to be safe. I'll try to contact y' if I can't make it, otherwise I'll be here." Remy answered, still holding her hand. "Merci for everythin'." He said to her before hugging her.

Rogue wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close, knowing it was rare for him to have close contact with anyone. She didn't notice him slip something into her coat pocket. "No problem, sugah." Rogue smiled at him as they broke the hug. "Ah'll see ya in two days and ya better be here." She told him before they went their separate ways.

**Jackson Airport**

A man screamed as he was tossed aside as Wanda, John, X-23, and Pietro made their way to a small jet that was stationed. The pilot inside the cockpit quickly ran to the door and locked it as the ramp came down and the four mutants boarded the plane.

"You want this or shall I?" Wanda turned to the brown haired girl, who unsheathed two claws from her right hand and walked over to the door. She struck the door around the handle and cut away, then kicked it open. The pilot pulled out a gun he had hidden underneath his seat and shot the girl, only to have to effect.

X-23 lunged at the pilot and sliced the barrel of the gun in half. "I'm only a little girl, why are you so afraid." She sneered at the man who backed into the controls.

"You're a freak." The pilot screamed before X-23 stabbed him in the chest.

"And you're dead." X-23 spat at him as John entered the cockpit and pulled the body from the small room.

"Did you have to make such a big mess?" John asked X-23 who retracted her claws and flipped him off. Blood smeared on the floor and on some of the controls.

"Don't talk to my woman like that." Pietro glared at John who rolled his eyes.

"And your woman hates you." John told the white haired mutant before he sat down in the pilot seat and wiped away some of the blood. Wanda sat next to him as X-23 and Pietro sat in the back. One of the good things he learned while living in Xavier's school was learning to fly a jet.

"Okay, we want to go down to Black Creek. Lorna lived around there." Wanda told him as he started the jet up prepared for takeoff.

"You think we'll find anything there?" He asked her. She didn't show many emotions, with the exception of anger, but he knew she was still depressed over her sister's death.

"I know we will, even if I have to burn the entire place down. One of those bastards had to have had something to do with her death. I'm going to find them and hurt them nice and slow like they did to her." Wanda hissed and folded her arms over her chest.

"Are you even sure she is dead? I mean, they never recovered the body and a lot of the people that attacked her ended up dead. Only a few witnesses said that they killed her." John suggested, but then shut up when Wanda glared at him. "Sorry, we'll find the bastards and burn them."

"Much better." Wanda nodded to him as they took off into the sky. It was only going to be a short trip, thirty or forty minutes, but much quicker than driving.

"So-" John began to say when Pietro screamed from the back seat. Wanda turned in annoyance to see X-23 had stabbed Pietro's sleeve to the chair, his hand hovering above her legs.

"I said keep your hands to yourself or you will lose it." X-23 glared at Pietro, who gulped. He knew better than to mess with the brown hair girl, but he couldn't help himself.

"Are you going to baby sit them?" John asked Wanda, who smirked. She shut the door, blocking the view of the cockpit.

"No, I think they'll be fine." Wanda smiled at him and sat back in the chair and got comfortable. She decided it couldn't hurt to take a little nap. She had hardly gotten much sleep over the past few days.

* * *

"You're up, darlin'." Logan said as he held the pool cue in his hands and let Ororo take a shot. She had said she didn't want to go anywhere fancy so he brought her down to the pool hall for a game and drinks. He wished it had been less crowded, mainly less men watching her as she bent over and made her shot. He growled softly as a man whistled.

"Ya sure this is okay? Ya won't be hurtin' my feelin's if we go somewhere else." Logan whispered to her as she stood up and took of sip of beer.

"This is fine." Ororo smiled at him and walked around to shoot another ball in a pocket.

"Hey baby, I got a stick ya can hold." A drunk man shouted at her as she made her shot. A few of his friends began to laugh.

"How about I cut it off?" Logan growled at the men and felt like unsheathing his claws. He knew he wasn't supposed to start fights with people, but at the moment he could care less about Xavier's rules.

"What are you going to do, hairy?" One of the men antagonized him. Logan narrowed his eyes and was about to proceed forward when Ororo put a hand on his chest.

"Ignore them, they're not worth it." She whispered to him. He listened to her, but still kept his eyes on them. If they so much as said one more words about her, they would be missing a valuable body part.

"Your turn." Ororo told him as she missed the hole. Logan walked around the pool table debating on which ball he should aim for.

"Hey, why don't you ditch this loser and come with me." One of the drunks said to Ororo and made his way over. Logan growled again and unsheathed his claws and kept them to the side.

"If you don't leave us alone, you are going to be hurt." Ororo warned the man and held the table cue close in both of her hands.

"How about we leave you alone if you flash us?" Another drunk suggested as a few of them began to move in on them. Laughter filled the pool hall. Logan finally had enough and attacked the men.

Others went to help their friend while two others went for Ororo. "Come on, baby. We'll show you what a real man feels like." The man laughed and approached her. He was about to grab her when she wacked him in the face with the pool cue and kicked him in the stomach. The other man tried to punch her but she dodged out of the way and threw the stick at him. Her eyes began to glow white and she sent a lightning bolt at him from her fingers. The little hair on the man's head stood out and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body began to twitch before he fell unconscious.

Logan finished off the men that attacked him and turned to see Ororo was able to handle herself. "Ya are full of surprises." He smiled at her as she walked over one of the men, kicking him while she was at it.

"I know how to defend myself. I was a thief on the streets for part of my life. During that time I learned a few things." Ororo responded to him as he put an arm around her.

"Sorry about this, not the time ya were expectin'." Logan said as they looked around the pool hall.

"Actually it wasn't that bad. I got to be here with you after all." Ororo smiled before she kissed Logan. "Maybe next time we should go somewhere with less people." She suggested.

"I agree." Logan told her as they exited the buildings.

**Sinister's Lair**

Scalphunter met Sinister in his lab as the scientist began working on a new project. None of the Marauders knew what LeBeau had been sent to retrieve for Sinister and doubt even he knew. He watched as Sinister took a syringe and injected it into a helpless mutant that was laying supine on a lab table.

"You wanted to see me, Sir." Scalphunter whispered after the scientist injected the mutant.

"Where is, LeBeau? I thought I requested for the both of you?" Sinister told the Marauder as he disposed of the needle in a sharp box and discarded the gloves he was wearing.

"He went out hours ago. I can brief him when he gets back." Scalphunter reported to the scientist.

"I don't believe I gave him permission to leave." Sinister turned to Scalphunter. He was beginning to get tired of the young mutant's tendency to wander off when he felt like it. He thought he had broken Gambit better than that. 'We'll have to fix that.' He thought to himself. "I need you and the rest of the Marauders to invade the Xavier's School and capture Scott Summers. I want him brought to me alive, the others I have no need for. I have taken what I wanted from the Grey woman. That is all." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." Scalphunter nodded and was about to walk out when he turned and asked, "What did you inject him with?" He looked down at the mutant Sinister had injected who was beginning to spasm and hyperventilate.

"It is a virus that was found. It has some interesting affects on mutants that I wanted to test out. I believe _he _called it the Legacy Virus." Sinister said without turning around.

**End of Chapter 14**

This chapter ended up being more fluffy than I intended. I'm not used to writing fluff, but I've been in a fluff mood all day for some reason. Need to get it fixed.


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